Wish Upon A Star
by dettahteen
Summary: In a world where it all ends, a group of survivors fight against all odds that are set before them. Naruto, his brother and his best-friend, try to live each and every day they can with other survivors they have met along the way.
1. Day of the Dead

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or H.O.T.D**_

**Summary: Naruto, his brother and his best-friend, try to live each and every day they can with other survivors they have met along the way.**

_**Just to let people know I will only let Sasuke, Naruto, and Kyuubi be the main characters from Naruto be in here, and others would be minor characters along with the main characters from the H.O.T.D**_

* * *

><p>"Big Brother, those scary people are all over the place what are we going to do?" A small eight year old red haired blue eyed child quietly sobbed into the chest of an older teen who was about eighteen and was carrying him in his arms, he had shining blonde hair, and deep blue eyes as they hid behind a small shed in the front school yard, surrounded by dozens of the undead, while most of them were within the school eating whoever survived.<p>

"I don't know Kyuu, but you gotta stay quiet, okay?" The teen whispered soothingly as he watched the hordes of the undead ignoring them as he tried to find a way to get away. The small boy nodded into his older brothers chest as he tried to calm himself down by taking large breathes as quietly as he could, trying not to freak out about what happened, how an entire day that was supposed to be perfect, all went to hell in a matter of a few hours.

Naruto was freaking out on the inside, while on the surface his face was calm and collected, and seemed to know where to be at the right time, but his mind was working at a mile a minute trying to come up with a conclusion on what was happening right before his eyes, everything that was supposed to be in horror movies was quickly becoming reality. His little brother in his arms was counting on him to survive while he held him in one hand, the other was his wooden sword, the one he had with him when those _things_ started to attack.

They were exhausted, Naruto was starting to fear for the worst when he saw that more of those _things_ were starting to gather outside, but they weren't after him, but another few poor souls who caught their attention by screaming while they were running from another horde of those undead beasts.

Naruto watched as those teens were being eaten alive on the other side of the front yard, he saw their blood began to form a pool around where they were being eaten, his younger brother covering his ears and shut his eyes tight, trying to block out their screams of fright and pain, or the sight of their mutilated bodies as they stained the ground where they lay.

Naruto was extremely scared, as he continued to watch the zombies eat their fresh meal, he looked around for any thing that could hold his little brother, his eyes landed on a duffel bag outside of the shed they were hiding behind.

Naruto looked around to see if there were any of those_ things_ close enough to grab him when he wasn't looking, but when he saw nothing he slowly made his way towards the bag, it was big enough to hold his brother, and also small enough for him to carry with ease. He quickly put his whimpering brother into the bag as he closed it just enough so that he could see his brothers head.

He regretted going to the bag as he saw one of those _things_ closing in on him while he was about to carry his brother in the duffel bag like a backpack, as soon as he turned he dodged one of those things about to grab him, as if moving by instinct he slashed at the things head, the adrenaline he had as he tried to calm his pounding heart, looking around to see if there was any more of _them_ that were coming towards him, but _they_ were still distracted.

Then he saw his bloodied best friend running to their location while _they_ were distracted, he ran off earlier to find anybody who was alive from their group of friends fear entered his body in full force as he looked at the expressions displaying on his face it was a slim chance they were.

"Sasuke what is happening, is anyone alive?" Naruto whispered when Sasuke was close enough. Sasuke looked conflicted like he didn't want to say anything, but the pained look in Naruto's eyes made the guilt take over him as he slowly spoke the truth about what happened moments before he saw his best-friend, and his little brother in a bag emerging from their hiding place, showing him that he had survived the hell hole they were currently in.

"Naruto, I-I just killed Sakura, and everyone else, even, even... Hinata." Sasuke looked away to hide his falling tears, and not to see his best friends look of horror.

* * *

><p>Chapter One: Spring of Dead<p>

* * *

><p>The birds were chirping in a nearby tree as the students were in their classes, but a certain third year young blond and his ebony haired best friend were skipping their current class mainly because there was a small red haired boy that had sneaked into the high school grounds. The small boy was none other but Kyuubi Namikaze, Naruto Namikaze's younger brother.<p>

"Kyuu what have I told you about skipping school!" Naruto scolded his younger brother who looked up at him with defiant eyes, as he pouted he wanted to spend more time with his brother before he went to do his daily club duties leaving him all alone once again. Before the small boy could retort from his reasoning for doing what he did, Sasuke cut him off.

"Just chill out Naruto, you know he does this at least once a week." Sasuke groaned as he ruffled his own hair to ease of his own annoyance, as he glared at the blond in front of him, who blew a raspberry at him in return

"I know but, I don't want his grades to fall." Naruto whispered to himself sadly, Sasuke looked at his friend, he could see all the conflicted emotions all over his face, like an open book.

"That's why he has us to help him out." Sasuke reassured his friend, as he patted him on the back, and ruffled the young forgotten red heads hair, who pouted not wanting to lash out at the black haired teen, and getting on his brothers bad side. Naruto just groaned, he knew Sasuke was right, but he couldn't shake the bad feeling he was having in his gut, but he shook it off thinking about why his younger brother wanted to skip school. Naruto drew up the conclusion that he wanted to spend more time with his brother, Naruto turned to Sasuke, who looked at him confused as he extended his hand towards his direction.

"Fine just give me my sword, so I can practice a bit before I skip the club meeting today, Saeko won't mind if I practice when I skip." Sasuke obliged happily, letting his stoic mask slip, mainly because of the threat of fan-girls were nowhere near their current location. Kyuubi stared at his older brother, he couldn't believe what he had just heard, he was ecstatic at the thought his older brother would actually stay with him this time.

"You are! Seriously big brother!" He asked, uncertainty was evident in his voice as Naruto and Sasuke looked at him with blank expressions, before large grins appeared on their faces as they both ruffled the young red heads hair as he giggled in excitement. As they were basked in the moment, a shrill scream, brought them back to reality, as they looked around with panicked expressions on their faces, Kyuubi grabbed unto his brothers leg in fear, as Naruto held his sword in battle position, while Sasuke tensed moving his body to attack with his fists if he needed too.

"What the hell was that!" Naruto yelled as he looked around for the source of the screaming, but Sasuke moved his shoulders moving him to look at a man on top of a woman, they looked familiar, but Sasuke looked pale as he looked at them.

"Holy shit, do you see that, its the p.e. teachers what the hell is going on, he-he is eating her." Naruto's eyes widened as he watched the blood oozing out of the female teacher, his mind went straight to Kyuubi, who was holding unto his pant leg crying in fear, as his eyes were glued unto the sight faraway, as people began screaming and running away. Naruto grabbed his brother, holding him tight as he lifted him up to carry, and comfort him and trying to make him look away, not wanting his little brother to witness the horrifying sight.

"Oh god, Kyuu look away, and stay quiet." Naruto whispered as he tried to find a good place to hide for the moment, he found a small shed near their location as he walked towards it, he turned to see Sasuke frozen, he could see him shaking in fear, he poked him by the tip of his sword getting his attention.

"..." Sasuke gasped as he felt Naruto poking him, Naruto's expression was filled with fear, but he hid it with one of his fake smiles, it somehow calmed him down, as he lead him to the school gardeners shed in front of them. When the reached their location, Naruto turned to look at Sasuke straight in the eye, his current fear was covered by the authority in his voice.

"Sasuke, we gotta hide and figure out a way to get out of here and warn people, but I can't run around as freely as you, with Kyuu here. Until I can find a way to carry him in a bag or something, do you think you can do it?" Naruto asked as he, held unto Kyuubi tightly, who was still crying as his small arms wrapped themselves around Naruto's neck shaking in fear. Naruto was calm, even in this situation they had just seen, Sasuke knew he had to be strong his younger brother needed someone stable to be with them, panicking wouldn't help them at all as they tried to formulate a plan.

"Yeah, and if I can I will try to bring our friends here, we can think of a plan then."

"Yeah I will wait here so hurry, please." Naruto let his mask slip a bit, as Sasuke saw that pained expression, like Naruto felt he was never going to see him again.

"Yeah, just promise me you'll stay alive and I will stay alive for you." Sasuke smirked trying to bring their conversation back to normal for his inner strength, as he ran towards on of the school entrances, Naruto looked at his friends retreating form as he hid from the p.e. class about a hundred yards away, as he hugged Kyuubi close, trying to cover his younger brothers ears, with his free hand, as screams were heard in the distance.

"Yeah you got my word." Naruto whispered as he heard the announcement, of a state of an emergency was given and to listen to the teachers, until the man speaking was screaming at someone, until he began screaming in pain, Naruto held Kyuubi tightly, as he tried to quiet his bothers sobs as they were hiding, while at the same time looking for the perfect bag.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was running frantically to his class room, when he reached it he saw they were in a middle of a lecture, he barged in unannounced causing all eyes to turn to him. He looked at everyone, almost glaring as he spoke.<p>

"Everyone, we need to evacuate immediately, someone was murdered at the school gate." He said as calmly as he could, the teacher looked at him flustered, and was about to speak before the announcements came on, it was a man who was telling them to evacuate, before he started screaming at another while he sounded like he was being tortured, after the announcer sounded like he had died, everyone was silent.

A chalk that was placed on the teachers pedestal rolled off and hit the ground shattering, it was silent for a second before everyone started screaming and started running having a large panic attack. Sasuke looked at everyone in fear as they ran, while hitting everyone else out of their way as they ran out of the classroom trying to leave the school, it was a massive panic attack.

"Sasuke what happened?" Sasuke turned to look at his friend, Sakura, head of the karate club looking at him with fear but quickly overcame the fear as she looked level headed at Sasuke while waiting for him to explain the situation during the screams her fellow students did as they ran, she dodged every hit headed her way, her fellow raven haired club mate Hinata was behind her looking at him frightened and almost fragile as she was surrounded by the current events taking place as they waited for an answer.

"Me and Naruto were outside on the school grounds when we saw one of the p.e. teachers eating another, it was horrible, but we have no time we have to get out of here right now no questions asked." Sasuke said as the girls looked at him, they looked like they were about to hurl at any second. The students were gone, the screams of their struggles to get away sounded faraway, there were many students who lid on the ground injured, some looked like they were trampled but still tried to get away.

"Wait you said Naruto was with you, where is he then?" Sakura asked, concern was evident on her face, the four of them grew up together, childhood friends who have went through everything together. Hinata was on the verge of tears as she looked at Sasuke, searching for anything to tell her of the blonds predicament, but Sasuke's serious face calmed her a bit, after seeing his reaction, he was in a hurry to leave, he looked like he would sprint from their sides at any second.

"He is still outside, hiding, he has Kyuubi with him, he can't run anywhere when the kid is too scared to move." Sasuke said calmly as he looked down the hall walking out of the class, walking to an opposite direction from the fellow students ran towards, he was going to go to another way he knew to get outside. Sakura and Hinata sighed in relief when they heard that the blond was currently safe as they followed closely behind Sasuke, who was going to towards on of the fire exits, a narrow stairway that lead to the outside on the side of the school, ten minutes away from where Naruto was hiding with Kyuubi.

As they walked swiftly and quietly towards the exit Sakura saw fellow students fighting of other students who had grabbed unto them, not letting them go they were covered in blood that dripped from their mouths. Sakura watched in disgust as she saw one student bite another, she ran aid the poor girl who was closest to her but the other students were already dead when she reached the girl, she kicked the back of the boys head with her legendary strength, a sickening crack was heard as the boy fell dead, the girl was crying uncontrollably a Sakura tried to comfort her not noticing one of them behind her biting her arm, Hinata by her side hit the fellow student with her unnatural strength as another sickening crack was heard, as they dragged the girl away from everyone else.

Sasuke looked at her in sadness and anger that something so horrible was happening in their school, they ran to the exit as fast as they could avoiding any other confrontations, making sure that none of _them_ were following, while Sakura and the girl held their wounds as they put pressure to stop the blood flow.

The stairs were empty as they shut the heavy iron door, the girl Sakura saved was beginning to look sickly like herself, as they started to walk down the stairs they noticed she was coughing uncontrollably, she also began to cough up blood all over the stairs as they slowed down their movement, trying to not draw any attention to themselves as the saw many students on the ground spread out all over.

Sasuke also saw some people screaming as they were being eaten, while some sacrificed each other so that they could run only get captured by others that surrounded them blocking off their exits. Sakura held onto the girl beside her as she helped her walk by giving her some support, but as she coughed up a large amount of blood, she slumped down on the steps so that they could sit. She turned to Sasuke who was looking at her with widened eye's trying to understand what the hell was going on.

"Sasuke we have to rest for a few minutes, she's coughing up blood, moving around would just make it worse." Sakura wheezed as she spoke, she held the girl close to her, Hinata siting on the other side of the girl holding her hair away from her face so that she wouldn't breath in her hair, as she gasped for air.

Sasuke nodded telling them they would wait, but when he saw the girl, he noticed she was sickly pale, and had bags under her eyes, as her breathing began to shallow, just the same as Sakura who was hiding her pain behind her tough acting as she tried to relax.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine once we hit the hospital." She said as she tried to smile, but it looked forced. Hinata was crying as she saw her friend and the girl's eyes starting to fade in color, the quiet raven haired girl hugged her best friend close to herself crying as Sakura patted her back before resting her head on Hinata's shoulder. A few seconds passed before the girl they saved and Sakura's breathing stopped. Hinata started crying even harder as she held on to Sakura's uniform tightly not willing to let go.

"W-wake up Sakura, i-it's not funny... please wake up." Hinata sobbed silently into her friends shoulder.

"Hinata, they're dead, we have to run right now, Naruto is waiting." Sasuke said as his fists were clenched as he hid his pained expression by looking away from Sakura's body, he grabbed Hinata's hand so they could walk away from their dead friend and the girl she saved, but Sakura's body began to convulse, as she began to move, just like the girl next to her.

Sasuke couldn't believe it, he was angry at his friend, they were going through something bigger than all of them, they were all freaking out, and Sakura had the nerve to pretend to be dead. Hinata couldn't care less if it was a joke or not as she hugged Sakura close, her tears falling down her face were of tears of joy, they didn't see the dead look in both the pale girls faces.

Sasuke watched in horror as Hinata began screaming in pain as Sakura bit her neck, blood flowing out of her wound as she tried to fight of Sakura but they pink haired girls strength was impossibly strong. Sasuke kicked Sakura's head trying to kick her away, but the sound of her skull being crushed was heard as she fell down unto the steps as blood splattered out of her head. Hinata held unto her neck trying to stop the blood from flowing out as the nameless girl from before got up and charged at Hinata, but the usually shy girl kicked her head before she reached her, crushing her skull.

"So that's it," Hinata whispered to herself as she looked at her now confirmed dead friend, her tears never stopped flowing, as her uniform was decorated with her blood. Sasuke was freaking out, he saw the girls die before his eyes, and when they were about to leave they got up again and attacked them.

"What the fuck is going on, they were dead how the hell did they get up again this isn't one of those fucking horror movies." Sasuke yelled out as he grabbed unto his hair, pulling on it trying to calm himself down as Hinata tugged on his jacket uniform. When Sasuke turned to look at her, he saw her smiling at him sadly as her never ending tears fell to the pavement steps.

"Sasuke, once you have been bitten its the end, I would have loved to see Naruto one last time before I died, but I know I would never be able to." Hinata spoke softly, Sasuke couldn't believe his ears, the same girl who was always hiding behind Sakura had just accepted her fate as she looked down at the ground, the students were like small dots as her vision was starting to blur, in an instant she saw a flash of yellow. She smiled once again as she sobbed, she turned to face Sasuke once again, her neck was in so much pain as she held unto the bloodied wound tightly.

"Sasuke, please help me, I want to die by my own terms, I don't want to be one of those _things_, please, I beg of you please help me." Hinata said as she tried to lift her leg over the railing the was on the side of the stairs. Sasuke was stuck in place, he didn't want to move, he didn't want another friend dead, he clenched his eyes tight. Hinata knew it was a lot to ask, but she knew if he didn't then she would become one of those things that were plaguing the school.

"Please Sasuke help me over the rail, its what I want most in the world other than Naruto of course, I don't want to be one of those _things_-"

"How do you know that you will, it might be a coincidence that this all happened the way it did." Sasuke cut Hinata off, he didn't want to believe what she was saying was true as she she only shook her head at him before smiling her sad smile once again before she spoke.

"Sasuke, your smart you know that this is the truth, please don't close your eye's to the truth, do you remember why we fight?" Sasuke was looking at her, the words struck a chord in his heart as he finally looked her straight in the eye, the tears he held back fell down his face freely as he answered trying not to allow his voice to break.

"Yeah,... so that we can see the light of day again, our old saying." Hinata nodded slowly as she began to cough up blood, Sasuke hugged her close as quickly lifted her up, before he reached the edge, he heard Hinata whisper in his ear before he threw he down. She said her final words of thanks before she hit the ground, her blood splattered on the ground. Sasuke fell to his knee's as he cried to himself, a few minutes passed before he stood to look over the railing, his thoughts were surrounding the idea of jumping over the edge himself, but before he made his decision he saw a flash of yellow. Naruto was standing, as he looked around from behind his hiding spot, his last friend was still alive, and he was waiting for him to return to him, then he remembered what Hinata just moments ago before she killed herself with his help.

_"Thank you Sasuke, and remember don't give up the hope that you can survive this."_

* * *

><p>Takashi, Rei, and Hizashi were running through the school trying to reach the roof of the school as fast as they could, but when they did they first noticed how quickly those things had made it to the top already. When they noticed the storage at the other side of the roof had a stair way that was easy to barricade, they ran there as fast as they could.<p>

Dodging, running and hitting those _things _was the routine to make to the other side, but when they finally reached their destination Rei was about to be attacked by one of those _things_, that don't even have a name other than the _undead_ came to close to her, feeling confident that she could take care of it she engaged the being.

"Are you nuts!" Takashi yelled out, knowing full well that she had no knowledge of how to take that _thing_ down without getting attacked in the process, just as he predicted as soon as she took her eye's off of it to retort at him, that _thing_ grabbed the pole she was using as a weapon and pushed her into the wall. The force of the blow pushed her to the ground_,_ making her stare at it in fear that she was about to get eaten as well.

"Get away!" She screamed causing both of her companions to look at her, realizing that she was about to be attacked, she raised her arms to protect herself in her panicked state of mind.

"Re-" Takashi started to say about to run to her side, but was cut off by his injured best friend who yelled.

"Rei" Hizashi grabbed Takashi's weapon away as he ran to Rei's side swinging the bat at the _things_ head killing it instantly.

"Hisashi!" Rei stood up, looking lovingly at her rescuer.

"Did you see that, you need to smash their heads." Hisashi told Rei his discoveries, just as they were about to leave back up the stairs he noticed another one of those _things_ were walking up the stairs, he kicked it down causing it to die instantly as it hit the back of its neck making a gruesome cracking noise as it hit the ground.

"Rei, Hizashi Hurry this way!" Takashi yelled, as he ushered the two in, he couldn't help but notice how close those two were as they passed him, but he quickly looked away and saw how all of those things were everywhere, he was confused and scared as he yelled out.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!"_  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Naruto, I-I just killed Sakura, and everyone else, even, even... Hinata." Sasuke looked away to hide his falling tears, and not to see his best friends look of horror.<p>

Naruto didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to believe his friends were dead, but he knew if they were bitten it was inevitable to avoid death, his next question took the raven completely by surprise.

"Did-did they die happy?" Naruto asked as he tried to hide his tears, and his quiet sobs, Kyuubi was silent as he sat in the bag holding unto his knee's trying not to listen to his brother crying. Sasuke stared at his friend as he thought about Hinata, who smiled before her death, she didn't regret anything and about Sakura's bravery, she was still smiling like she didn't regret the choice she made, even if it cost her life.

Sasuke couldn't put any of it in words as he thought about their friends, he could only nod his head, while trying not to look into the blonds eye's, not wanting to see the pain that was hidden deep inside of him. But when he finally had the courage to look up he saw him smiling, he was happy that they didn't die scared and alone, but he wished he could be there with them, saying his final good bye before they finally died. Naruto wiped his tears away, as he found a new resolve to survive, he would never hear the end of it if he died then and there, his friends in the after life would most likely kick his ass if he died.

* * *

><p>Takashi and Rei were running down the stairs, to look for survivors, and to find a way out of the school to try and find a way to get to their homes to see if their families were alright. Also to get the supplies they needed to somehow survive.<p>

As they ran, they heard a piercing scream echo in the air, on instinct they ran to the source and were in complete shock, but they didn't have time to stop and gawk at the sight in front of them they had to take care of those _things_ before they start biting so they started to swing as they were joined by a purple haired girl and the school ditzy nurse.

* * *

><p>"We have to find a way out of here, I can only think about going to see the teachers lounge they always leave their car keys there." Naruto said, as he pulled his brother off of his leg and placed him on his back fixing the straps so that the bag wouldn't fall off or easily taken off. As he started walking towards the school, Sasuke walking right behind him as he tried to think as well. Kyuubi just kept silent as he felt his brother moving while he was inside the bag, waiting for them to find a way to get out of the school grounds and go somewhere safe.<p>

"How would you know that? They could have had their keys with them when all this happened." Sasuke tried to reason, he didn't want to go back into the school, and most likely lose his last and only true friend during the process, he didn't think he could live through another of their friends death, and he didn't want to put the kid at risk when they run from all the attacks. Naruto turned around, looking annoyed about his judgement being questioned as he led them towards the school, around the least populated area in hopes that they could make it through.

"Sasuke, out of the whole school, who gets sent to that room most of all." Naruto asked as he walked past one of the undead, they kept silent for a few moments until they made it past the school doors, and near the stairs where there was no one, about half way up the stairs Sasuke answered him about the most common knowledge around the third years.

"You do-"

"Of course, so I would know what is kept there more than anyone, even if there are no car keys there's the bus keys we could always swipe." Naruto cut him off, as they ran down the hall way, a few of _them_ were walking slowly, not wanting to take any risks Naruto ran towards the closest one and cut _it_ down, one after the other until the hallway was cleared of the remaining few of those _things_, they were nearly at the Faculty room, it was just around the corner.

They continued walking until they heard screaming, running on instinct Naruto ran towards the screaming, there he saw a couple of survivors fighting those _things_ that were surrounding them.

"I can't take it anymore, someone please!" screamed a young teen girl, but everything went blank for the two seniors, they went on auto pilot.

He ran towards the closest one of the undead and started to swing his sword, not paying attention to who he was saving or who was there fighting alongside him, as Sasuke kicked each one in the head, with his experience he refused to let one get a hold of him as he fought near Naruto, and careful of his swings not wanting to get hit.

As the two fought, they were graceful with every move that they made, they were always known for their amazing teamwork even though it sometimes it gets them into trouble, but it was like they were born to fight by each others side.

They continued fighting on instinct, they didn't slow down the process until the area they were in was cleared of the rising dead which was in a matter of a few seconds. When the room was quiet once again, except for the sounds of sobbing coming from the bag Naruto had on his back, and the girl they just saved who he realized was his beloved younger cousin Saya Takagi.

Naruto slowly turned as he snapped out of Auto pilot with Sasuke by his side, careful of the bag on his back that carried his beloved baby brother, he noticed his club captain Saeko standing before him, they silently regarded each others presence as they looked into the others eyes and nodding.

Saya Takagi stared at her reflection in fear, she was trying to catch her breath, but with her near death experience she couldn't take it. Rei was at her side in seconds, cutting off Hirano from going to her side with Shizuka behind her knocking Hirano to the ground, not that he minded how it happened at all.

"Takagi, are you okay?" Rei asked, as Shizuka looked worriedly at the young pink haired girl.

"Miyamoto." She softly said, Takashi went to the door to shut it in hopes that it will stop _them_ from approaching for awhile.

Takashi looked at the people around them, out of them all the one who caught his attention was the blond with the duffel bag on his back, that had a tuft of red hair at the top of the bag. He was curious but the purple haired girl started to speak.

"You already know the school doctor Marikawa right? And I'm Saeko Busujima from class 3-A"

"I'm Takashi Komuro, from class 2-B" Takashi replied, but the person that held his curiosity stayed silent, like he was waiting as he looked into his companions ebony eye's.

"Ms. Busujima, I remember you won the national championship last year. I'm Rei Miyamoto, I'm in the spear martial arts club." Rei introduced herself to the Senior, as she stood up, unaware of the pudgy boy behind here silently waiting for his turn to introduce himself.

"Oh and I'm Kohta Hirano, from class B just FYI." Saeko smiled at him, and politely spoke.

"Nice to meet you," Hirano gasped at the beauty in front of him, Sasuke couldn't help but snort quietly at Hirano's attitude at seeing a girl, but no one looked at him as Takagi angrily stood and started to yell at them, not once noticing the blond and his friend.

"Why are you guys being all warm and fuzzy! Why are you being so polite to her Miyamoto, you flunked last year. She's not your elder-" Rei looked both shocked and sadly at Takagi as she reminded her of her failure to move unto the next grade.

"What are you talking about Takagi-" Takashi began, but was immediately cut off as she began to scream at them.

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid. I'm smarter than all of you combined, you should be lucky I'm in the same school as you. I'm a- I'm a" A hand to her shoulder stopped her from continuing and succeeded in calming her down.

"It's okay, that's enough." A soft voice spoke, it was the older blond teen, one of the duo that took out most of the zombies. He stood in front of Takagi, his bag ruffled as he stood in front of her looking at her panicked state. She didn't look up, but looked to the side where a mirror stayed on the wall in front of her, she saw her uniform, and her face, it was splattered with blood.

"Look at me, all of these blood stains. Now mom will h-have to take it to the cleaners." She spoke in a shaky voice, as Takashi came into her view in the mirror, his gaze held sadness and pity as he saw her standing shakily in front of the mirror and the blond stranger.

Takagi saw his face, and plunged into the awaiting chest of the boy who held her shoulder, crying out her frustration, and absolute fear as they both slid to the ground. Naruto held unto her, allowing her to cry, while speaking softly into her ear, loud enough for all of them to hear.

"It's okay, I'm here Saya. Your big cousin Naruto will protect you, it will be alright." As everyone stared sadly at the two, Saeko came to their side also holding unto them, in a protective hug until Saya calmed down. Everyone then remembered their situation, and why they had to be on alert, even though the small moment had come and gone where everyone was happy, and worry free, they had to find a way to survive.

* * *

><p>"What do you think?" Takashi asked as he dropped the last item on the barricade on the only exit.<p>

"I think that's enough right now, let's take a quick break." Saeko responded, as she rubbed her shoulder, as she sat on one of the seats in the room, as Hirano slipped away to check on Saya, who was washing herself off at the moment.

"Hey, just wondering, are you okay?" He asked as she was wiping her face free of water. When she finally looked up she placed her glasses on her face.

"huh?" She asked as her face glistened from the excess water on her face, as she faced Hirano who was frozen in place.

"You wear glasses!" Hirano squawked out, but Saya threw the towel she had in her hand at the pudgy boy to silence him

"SHUT UP, my contact lenses keep on moving around!" She huffed, as she walked past him unaware of his infatuation of the fact she just revealed.

"She wear's glasses." Hirano spoke out dreamily, as Saya went straight to the blonds side who held a small red haired boy in his arms, when he revealed him to the group just minutes after the barricade was finished. Rei walked up to Takashi after she grabbed a couple bottles of water, who sat against the photocopiers as he relaxed.

"Here you go." Rei said as she handed one the bottles of water to Takashi, and walked away.

"Thanks. Doctor Marikawa, where's the car keys?" Takashi asked as the doctor grabbed her purse.

"Oh it's in my purse somewhere."

"Aunt Shizuka, it is not wise to take your vehicle." Naruto said, as he walked next to the ditzy woman.

"Aunt?" Rei, Takashi, and Hirano spoke in unison at the new piece of information, as Saeko continued without much thought.

"I agree Doctor, what about the micro bus we use for the clubs away games?"

"The keys are on the wall hooks here." Sasuke said, as he grabbed the keys, twirling them in his fingers. Hirano looked out the window behind him inspecting the area.

"Hey guy's I see the bus." He said, as it cleared some tension about the thought about looking for the vehicle.

"That's fine, but where are we going?" Shizuka asked, as she couldn't keep up with the conversation.

"Wait a minute, who are you guys first?" Rei asked as she leaned against the wall, she recognized both teens, but didn't know from where. Naruto sighed as he looked at Sasuke, waiting for him to break and to introduce them, since he was too lazy at the moment, which didn't take long.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha, and this blond idiot happens to be my best friend Naruto Namikaze, and the red haired midget is his little brother Kyuubi who sneaked unto campus grounds just moments before those things attacked." Sasuke's hand clenched tightly as the image of Sakura, and Hinata flashed through his immediately saw the signs, he placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder in a sign to comfort the other teen, which did it's job.

Takashi, Rei, and Hirano froze in place they knew those names, they were the most famous people in the entire school. Sasuke was known for his beauty and as the ice prince cold to anyone but a select few, and his hordes of fans along with his athletic abilities. Naruto was known as the golden king of the school the only one on equal grounds with Sasuke, and his company with many beautiful women (who are in fact his family, which they don't know about that little fact).

"Now that you know who we are, what's the plan to just stand there and gawk at us all day?" Naruto asked in a teasing tone which was so soft as he stared directly into Takashi's eye's who flinched at the eye contact, he felt inferior to the two in front of him, they were amazing when they fought earlier that it was like they weren't normal humans but super beings who graced them with their presence.

"Hey it's okay, no need to be scared. In the end we are all equal, no one is greater than the next." Naruto comforted him, as he watched Takashi's reaction, he noticed the younger teen was slowly opening up to them as he gained back his earlier confidence and continued to speak before Rei interrupted him to ask who the famous teens were.

"We're going to see if our families are okay. We'll start with the family that lives closest from here, if you're worried about your family, we'll bring them with us, after that we'll look for a safe place and-" Takashi stopped talking, in the silence Saya looked at Takashi in confusion, after pulling down her shirt after inspecting it.

"What's wrong?" Then they noticed Rei, who was looking at the television watching the news.

"What is this!" She whispered as Saeko quickly went to the desk with the remote, turning up the volume as fast as she could.

"Whats wrong Rei?"

"Government have begun to consider emergency measures against the outbreaks that have been occurring around in locations around the city. However all the political-"

"Outbreaks! What do they mean outbreaks!" Takashi yelled out as Saeko changed the channel, hoping there were more answers on the other stations.

"It's been feared, more than ten thousand has been victimized in the Saidama area so far. The Governor has called for-" A gunshot was heard in the background, as the news reporter looked at her side in fear as the camera moved to where she was looking as body bags rose and begun moving, as she continued her report.

"The Governor has declared a state of Emergency, and requested the emergency disaster relief-. It's a gunshot, it's the police, they're finally using firearms. From what I can see from here- No, NO, NOOOO." They could hear her screaming as the camera falls to the ground, showing someones feet. The station quickly cuts the feed off, everyone stared in shock at the t.v. no one spoke a word.

The station continues as a woman at a desk reads off of the paper in front of her,

"There appears to be a problem with our remote, from now on we'll bring you reports from inside the studio. The condition outside seemed extremely Chaotic, stay home unless it's absolutely necessary to go outside. We'll bring you more stories of the current situation as soon as its safe from the site." Takashi hit the desk in frustration.

"Ugh, is that all? Why didn't they tell us anything else?"

"It's like a scary movie Big bro-" Naruto shushed to frightened boy, as he stroked the child's back an old habit from when they were younger as everyone else continued

"They're afraid of causing a panic." Sasuke began, but he let Saya continue knowing she had an opinion about it.

"A Panic?"

"Yeah you idiot!"

"Now now no need for name calling Saya." Naruto scolded as she continued,

"First panic then chaos, and chaos causes a disruption of order, and then when orders disrupted well you can just hand everything to the walking corpses." She finished, the t.v. continued their reports.

"This unusual and unprecedented biological phenomenon that spread throughout the North America has yet to be put under control. Government authorities have evacuated the white house, and will relocate on a command center on board the aircraft carrier George Washington. There are reports that the transfer of power is in preparation of tactical warheads to combat the infestation. We've currently lost contact with Moscow, Beijing has been set ablaze. London has maintained order while in Paris and Rome there are reports of looting. The government officials have declared a state of martial law-" The t.v. began to sound distorted as it continued, until the signal was lost.

"So they're everywhere-"

"That's crazy, everything was normal when I checked the internet this morning-"

"I can't believe it, this happened all over the world in a matter of a few hours," Rei said as she backed up to tug on Takashi's sleeve as she continued.

"But they'll stop it right, I mean they have to stop it from spreading, I mean everything's going back to normal soon." Sasuke stared at the girl in disbelief, he hated her attitude at the moment, as she was trying to delude herself that it was all going to go away, blow over by itself.

"That's not gonna happen!" He said in annoyance, but Takashi was quick to her rescue

"Why do you have to be so blunt about it?" he asked rashly, but Saya answered for the raven.

"This is a pandemic, there's nothing we can do." Shizuka gasped

"A pandemic?" She began thinking seriously, as Takashi remembered she was there as well.

"It's an outbreak of an infectious disease, the entire world is experiencing the same outbreak." Naruto held unto the shaking child as everyone else continued with Sasuke, and Saya talking about the possibilities of what was happening.

"So what it's some kind of epidemic?" Takashi asked as Naruto walked next to him, as Saya continued

"This is exactly like the Spanish flu in 1918, more than 600 million people got infected, and 50 million people died from it. Remember what a panic swine flu caused, well square that." Sasuke finished, as Shizuka replied to that statement.

"Not to be disagreeable I think this is more like the black death from the 14th century."

"One third of the European population died you're more smarter than you look." Sasuke said as Naruto glared daggers at him, causing him to whistle as he looked at the other direction.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I know you both had high grades in History class but seriously this isn't a school session, we need to be figuring out a way to get out of here without those things outside overwhelming us." Naruto groaned, as his soft voice calmed the situation some, he always had that kind of voice that could make you feel safe in any situation.

"But I kinda wanna know how the outbreak ended." Takashi asked, wary to spark the blond boy's anger, as his aunt Shizuka simply answered the curious boy.

"Well the funny theory is, it usually stops when too many human's die. There wouldn't be enough people to spread the disease-"

"But now, all the dead people started moving and started attacking you." Hirano threw into the conversation as he looked behind the blinds on the window, watching the dead wondering around the school grounds.

"Are you saying there's no reason for this outbreak to stop." Naruto started to shake in anger when they didn't stop, Sasuke was quick to notice since he never took his eye's off the blond in fear that if he looked away he would lose him, but he didn't feel a reason to stop the annoying conversation for his blond friend, but what Sasuke didn't know was that he had already found the answer to their scenario and was annoyed no one found out about it yet.

"Ah, the weathers going to be hot they might be able to move while their flesh decomposes, and they become skeletons." Shizuka piped out happily as she spoke her mind, Saeko turned to the doctor as she spoke.

"How long does it take for that to happen?"

"Well in summer some parts of the body could be come skeletal in 20 days, but it takes considerably longer during winter." Shizuka began mumbling as she started to think out the scenarios about how each theory would take place.

"About a couple months, that's not too terribly long." She said happily,

"You're kidding, she's not smarter than she looks." Saya said as she looked at Sasuke who seemed to be contemplating what she said coming to the same conclusion as Saya just as Naruto did moments before any of them.

"So what are you saying." Takashi spoke as he stared directly at Saya who was about to continue before Naruto coughed grabbing everyone's attention.

"What my adorable cousin was saying is that medical logic does not apply to those dead corpses that move and attack humans, and the worst case scenario is that they may never decompose." Naruto said as he finally calmed down.

"Well first things first, we should check if our families are okay. Then we need to find some place to hold up for awhile, but no matter where we go we're going to need a plan, just like Naruto said-"

"Finally someone with some sense, I always knew I liked you Saeko." Naruto smiled as he winked at the flustered girl, who quickly schooled her face and continued her speech, but Sasuke saw the faint pink that stayed on her face as everyone was too busy listening to the girl.

"Teams! We need to team up." Everyone prepared their weapons, as Naruto put Kyuubi back in the duffel bag with Sasuke by his side hold a base ball bat he found on the floor next to the P.E. teachers desk, Saya was with Hirano, Rei was with the doctor, while Takashi was with Saeko.

"Let's try to pick up survivors whenever we can."

"Leave that to me and Sasuke." Naruto's voice chimed as, Sasuke did the finishing touches on strapping Kyuubi with Naruto.

"No we should work with them." Sasuke snapped, as he held unto the blonds shirt both growling at each other as they stared at each other face to face.

"I won't lose you too, I can't lose you-you idiot." Sasuke growled out again as he hugged the blond tightly as Naruto's eye's widened in realization, he never wanted to lose another friend, and Naruto was his little brother, they were all they had left him, Naruto, and little Kyuubi.

"Yeah I know, but you won't I right here Sasuke, you know I don't go down that easily." Naruto said as he patted Sasuke's back, looking at their audience.

"No need to listen to our little break down, let get a move on." As Sasuke let go of him, Saya told them they had to leave through the front door.

"Well what are we waiting for am invitation? Lets get a move on." Naruto piped as he took the front lines with Sasuke and Takashi by his side, as Saeko was taking care of their sides, with Hirano shooting from behind them. They made it to the stairway outside which lead to the second floor of the building, Saeko found it necessary to brief them about fighting the living dead.

"There's no need to engage in a fight with _them_ unless absolutely necessary, do whatever you can to avoid a fight, got it?"

"Remember they're sensitive to sound so keep it quiet, and they're strong enough to rip through regular doors, so if get a hold of you they are going to tear you to shreds. So be careful." As soon as Saya finished her observation a scream echoed through the area, and Naruto bolted with Sasuke by his side.

Takashi and the rest of the group followed the boys with difficulty as they slashed, and bashed at every undead in their path totally ignoring Saeko's warnings as they got further ahead leaving headless corpses behind them. When the group arrived at the scene where a small group stood standing before their saviors bowing theirs respects to the two idols regardless of their couldn't believe it, they obliterated everything in their path without much difficulty, and they didn't even look winded, and their speed was inhuman, especially Naruto who zoomed through the hordes of the undead.

"Hey keep the tones down, also was anyone bitten yet?" Naruto asked, as he looked at the three boys and two girls with a hard expression .

"What? No, no one was bit." The girl with shoulder length hair shook her head, and waved her hands, Rei came down and she inspected them.

"It looks okay, it will be alright." Rei said as she smiled at the blond teen.

"We're getting out of here, do any of you want to come with us?" Takashi asked as he walked down the stairs. The same girl answered for her group, as she agreed to follow them. They walked until they got to the stairs that went straight to the front door, but it wasn't all good news when they made it to the bottom. The entire bottom area was swarming with the undead, it looked impossible to go through.

"From what I can tell is they only thing they react to is sounds, they can't see us so it's pointless to hide from them."

"Why don't you go down and prove that theory." Takashi retorted, causing Saya to scoff at the other teen.

"We are eventually going to be attacked if we stay in the school." Saeko stated the facts if they didn't go through the mob of the undead.

"We have to go through the gates, we have no other choice." Rei stated as her grip of the broken mop tightened.

"Someone has to confirm Takagi's theory." Saeko said, as she watched each movement the dead made as they discussed what to do.

"I'd do it but my body guard would never let me go alone, and well I have another passenger I would be endangering." Naruto said, as Sasuke stood beside him next to Takashi and Hirano, as he held unto the blonds wrist not letting him go, his words bodyguard had a secret double meaning.

"I'll do it." Takashi announced, Rei merely gasped as he walked down the stairs, she was about to yell she was going with him, until Sasuke covered her mouth, his glare shut her up before she could try and snap at him, as Saeko spoke.

"This is a man's decision, you should sit still and respect it." As her hold on her weapon discretely moved into a ready position, as well as Naruto's, who could very easily take down the mob in seconds, but he knew better than to reveal his secrets even if his life depended on it.

"Hey Takashi I have only one question, why are you doing this?" Naruto asked, as he watched the younger teen in amusement.

"I don't know."

"You don't know huh." The amusement gleamed in his eye's as Sasuke watched, studying the younger boy.

"Seriously, I don't know." Takashi turned, and looked at the two older boys with an unreadable expression on his face. Sasuke merely filed away his observation, which he knew would be needed later on. Naruto smiled at him, with a knowing expression on his face, as Rei attempted to struggle against Sasuke's hold but when he returned his gaze on her, his cold black eye's froze her in place.

Naruto watched as Takashi walked down the stairs, he could tell the boy was scared as he walked to the center of the room as quietly as he could. One of the undead came dangerously close to Takashi, the boy looked extremely scared as the undead passed him without giving him a glance. Takashi calmed down, as he reached down to the area next to him, picking up a small shoe he threw it at the other side of the wall away from the entrance.

The small thud echoed in the room as all of the undead moved to the direction of the sound. The rest of the group made their way down the stairs with Naruto and Sasuke in the lead, but in a split second that no one could predict, one of the boys they rescued weapon hit the stair rails, the sound echoed through the entire school.

Takashi acted on instinct as he yelled his loudest to run, everything after that all of hell came loose. Naruto slashed through all the zombies in his path with such precision that it would make an assassin jealous of his ninja like skills, just Sasuke showed just as much talent as himself maybe even more, not that Naruto would admit that. But the two were so ahead of the rest of the group that they didn't notice the boy with the towel around his neck get grabbed and eaten, or the fact they left the group vulnerable as they made it to the bus guarding it's doors, killing the dead left and right.

When everyone arrived and seated themselves inside the bus, they noticed another group of survivors. It was the teacher Koichi Shido, and a group of students, Rei's face looked in between that of horror and disgust, laced with rage. While Takashi yelled for Shizuka to wait until the other survivors arrived.

"Live him here to die, you'll regret it if you save him." Rei yelled, Takashi was ready to retort until a cold voice chilled him to the bone,

"I guess the zombies aren't the only ones who're not human anymore." Takashi looked to the source of the voice, and found it to be Sasuke, the raven held unto his weapon tightly, as Naruto walked to his side with his sword ready as they jumped out of the bus. Naruto looked back at them, glaring hard at Rei which made her scared for her life as he held unto his weapon in a deadly manner, until he spoke his usually soft voice was rough and hard which scared everyone on the bus except for the small red haired boy Kyuubi who wasn't looking as he shut his eyes closed, Saya as she looked outside at the undead gathering in their way her fists forming a ball as she wanted so bad to defend the girl, but knew it was hopeless to go against the boy's judgment of the girl until later on

"You disgust me, regardless of your past with the man, you would allow other innocent people to die because of your hate." Naruto yelled as he fought the undead left and right, Rei wanted to yell back and defend her statement, but no words escaped her mouth, except for small sobs as the blond and the raven continued to fight.

Takashi knew right then and there, he was no match for these two. They were powerful, had the strength of a leader yet they follow under his leadership which didn't make sense too him, but he knew they were right there were others they had to save regardless of Rei's uncomfortable state with the man they had to save the others.

"You'll regret it." She cried into his ear as he walked out of the bus to help the godlike boys fight the oncoming waves of the undead.

* * *

><p>I know I am horrible to make Rei seem like the bad guy in the end, but we all know Naruto has a tendency to be a hero, but regardless of the male teacher there were other students with them, and the reason I skipped the part where Shido kicked that kid in the face is because they missed it as they glared at the girl. Well I hope I won't recieve flame about the younger brother part but you'll see later on about what I meant to go for in the story, and the fact that Shizuka is Naruto and Kyuubi's aunt is because she is Minato's younger sister, as Saya's mom in Kushina's older sister, there I hope I covered every detail. If not just tell me so I can fill it out in the next chapter. XD<p> 


	2. Shooting Star

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or H.O.T.D**_

**Summary: Naruto, his brother and his best-friend, try to live each and every day they can with other survivors they have met along the way.**

_**Just to let people know I will only let Sasuke, Naruto, and Kyuubi be the main characters from Naruto be in here, and others would be minor characters along with the main characters from the H.O.T.D**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 2: <strong>_

_**Don't Forget The Shooting Star  
><strong>_

* * *

><p>The bus ride out the school yard was full of heart pounding adrenaline, as they ran over the undead like bowling pins in a bowling alley. Shizuka had to repeat to herself over and over that they weren't humans anymore to make it easier to run over the people she once had a duty to look after.<p>

"They're not humans anymore, they're not people anymore, THEY'RE NOT ALIVE ANYMORE!" Shizuka yelled out as she continued to drive crashing into the front gates, the impact shattered the gates apart allowing them to break free from the school.

They drove quickly down the road from the school, with the cherry blossom petals falling behind them. Naruto watched them in sadness, he and his friends used to watch them all the time, they held a significant meaning to him, but he wouldn't allow himself go down memory lane, not right now at least. Kyuu was sitting on Saya's lap, watching the world through the window, no matter how sad and destroyed it was, he wanted to know what was going on.

Hirano was inspecting his handmade weapon, and re-taping it, while Takashi looked on ahead, unaware of the pair of cerulean blue eyes watching his every move, studying him.

"I can't believe we did it."

"Yeah." Hirano whispered in agreement.

"Thank god we did," Shido said in his snake like voice as he walked down the rows in the bus, until he went to Saeko's side who was currently cleaning her weapon.

"I take it you have been appointed leader?" He asked, full of expectation that she would be the sexy leader, who would succumb to the pressures of leadership and turn to him in comfort.

"Their's no such thing, we just work together in order to live, that's all." Sasuke kept his eye's on the situation, his eye's filled with anger with memories of another who had the same look in his eye's who watched Naruto when they were younger, but he held himself as to not fall into the sad and horrible memories.

"That's not good, in order to survive we definitely need a leader. A leader who bears everything. With valor, with confidence" Shido preached, with a look in his eye as he took in every detail student watching him in awe, Rei used this opportunity to whisper to Takashi.

"You'll regret this, I guarantee you'll regret that you helped him." Rei finished as she glared hatefully at Shido, while Naruto's gaze moved unto Shido, his expression unreadable as he continued to observe his surroundings.

"Sasuke!" Naruto whispered fully aware that no one was paying attention, as Sasuke gave him his ear to listen to whatever the blond had to say.

"The city!" one of the students yelled, distracting Rei from her hatred, as she turned her gaze towards the window beside her. The city was in chaos as they seen countless clouds of smoke rising into the sky.

They drove past a 7/11 convenience store, with its cashier clueless to his surroundings as one of the undead was walking slowly towards the store, and he was still unaware as the same undead that was closing in on him was run over by the bus.

"Shiiiit! Like I said, it's only dangerous if we keep going. First of all, why do we have to go with Komura and the others, you guys are the ones who decided to go back to the city. If we stayed at the school-"

"Enough!" Sasuke yelled, while Naruto gestured Kyuubi to go sit with Hirano, and Saya when he tried to sit with his older brother. He gently pushed the boy in her direction once again as he gave eye contact to the girl who understood, she called the young boy to her side, when she settled him unto her lap she covered his ears. Getting the hint Kyuubi shut his eyes knowing that he wasn't allowed to see what would happen next.

Hirano watched as Saya covered Kyuubi's ears, he knew that it wouldn't work completely, so he looked through his uniform pockets finding an mp3 and some working ear buds, he tapped her hand, before she could angrily retort he put his hands up to calm her down, while putting the ear buds into the red-heads ears, and played whatever song was on.

"This should work better."

"You are such a dweeb, but thank-you." Saya caressed the small boy in her arms, slightly hearing the music playing.

"No problem, after all I don't think children should have to see, or hear what may go down." Hirano replied as he nervously watched the situation escalating very quickly.

Naruto punched the annoying teen in the stomach, the sudden impact threw the boy on the floor, clutching his gut which was pulsing in pain. He was about to yell whoever it was who hit him, but stopped immediately at who was standing so tall in front of him, his fist still in the air as he slowly put his hand to his side.

"Still gonna complain about going back to that threshold of death, there's no argument about its mediocre protection. But sooner or later we would've all died, there's no sugar-coating it, like saying we could have been saved sooner or later. Have you seen what happened in a mere couple of hours?! The school was annihilated and didn't even have a chance to fight back, and you foolishly think we could have survived in that death trap?! How fantastical your way of thinking is!"

"Naruto that's no way to placate the situation, come and sit next to sensei. While you and I have some '_business_' to discuss, the others can sit quietly to process what you just said." Shido slithered out as he walked up to the tense teen, placing his hand on his shoulder as he guided him to the back of the bus making everyone there move to the front, letting no one catch any part of their conversation. Even Sasuke didn't catch a snippet of it before everything went back to the way to the way it was before the sudden outcry from the scared student.

* * *

><p>The ride to the city was uneventful, except for the occasional roadkill of the undead. Naruto and Shido were still speaking to each other, but whenever Takashi took a peak at them, it seemed like it was mainly Shido speaking, while Naruto listen to the slithery man talking. However when he glanced at Sasuke, he couldn't help but think of a yakuza bodyguard, waiting silently while holding unto the blonds wooden sword. While thinking of both Naruto and Sasuke, he could only imagine how great they were while working together. If they were under different circumstances he would have admired their teamwork, and graceful fighting techniques. Comparing himself to Sasuke and Naruto was like comparing a lump of coal to a genuine diamond, it was that obvious with what he'd seen from the two teenage boys.<p>

The young red head in their group, was a small child, who was lucky he was with his older brother when the shit hit the fan basically, the blonds natural instincts in battle kept them alive, and took everyone over a great distance from their previous hell, and unto a place filled with hope, and safety. Takeshi still found it hard to believe about their current situation, it was like a horrible nightmare that you couldn't wake up from. Looking around again, he noticed that Naruto walked back to his seat, his demeanor seemed a lot different from before, he was more tensed, as if getting ready for something.

Reaching an intersection, Shizuka slowed down looking for which road to take. It was silent, everyone was tense while scanning the area, there was not an undead in sight, so she took her time while having one of the female students help her by reading a map they found in the compartment shelf. Shido watched their every move with a lust filled gaze, with Rei witnessing this in disgust.

Rei clenched her fists, her breathing slowly becoming erratic by suppressing her rising fury. The other passengers talked amongst themselves, that no one noticed that Shido was no longer at the back of the bus, but in the front helping the two women with the map. He discretely fondled the young girl when he made a move towards the map. His gentle gestures across her body, made her body react as he positioned himself behind her slowly rubbing against her. His mind at ease with the proposition he made with Naruto burning in the back of his mind, that boy wasn't so godly when he had tendencies towards the shadowy kind of crowd.

Nightfall was coming, and they were still parked in the same spot. Naruto went outside for some fresh air, he didn't know about the way Shido was making a move on one of his fellow students. But when Rei stormed out, angrily yelling at Takashi who was trying to understand why she was so angry. Naruto walked towards her, hoping to calm her down before she drew more of the undead in their direction. Loud engines revving drew his attention to the tunnel at their side, a large vehicle was racing towards them. Reacting by pure instinct, Naruto grabbed Rei, pulling them both out of the way while Takeshi was grabbed by Sasuke and dragged into the bus.

Trapped on the other side of the burning bus, Naruto yelled for them to meet up at the bridge in the centre town.

"C'mon, we have to get out of here before dark." Naruto dragged an uncooperative Rei.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Unless you think you can survive on your own then you can make your own decisions, but if not shut the hell up and follow me if you want to live!" Naruto didn't wait for Rei to follow as he made his way towards the end of the dim lit tunnel.

* * *

><p><strong>Four hours later:<strong>

* * *

><p>Naruto and Rei were riding in a SUV towards the city, running over the undead easily with the 4-by-4 on. Naruto was very glad to have found this vehicle with the keys in the ignition. Nighttime was dangerous, just as he suspected the pitch black road would have been impossible for the two of them to travel without transportation. Nearing the nearest neighborhood, Naruto noticed that the gas light was blinking. He drove quickly to the closest gas station, ignoring Rei's gasp as they passed an convenience store.<p>

Once they reached the gas station, Naruto told Rei to lock the door as he filled up the tank. He thanked any god watching over them that he had brought his wallet. Looking at his surroundings, he noticed that there were other undead on the street, while on his way back to the SUV Naruto heard a loud scream from a woman. Reacting with instincts he ran towards the source of the scream. It was a platinum blond teenager, who's features tugged his mind, this familiarity of her was too much to ignore. She was Ino, a girl from his distant past, she was a part of their mismatch group of misfits. Naruto slowly became aware of others, two other teenagers, in the middle of lowering their weapons, they were also old friends of his Shikamaru, and Kiba.

Ino was currently being held against her will by a crazed man, who didn't look very friendly with a knife held against the blond girls jugular. Naruto could already tell Rei must be getting anxious, by the fact that he could see her scared expression through the reflective glass of the gas station windows, she was about to open the door when Naruto slowly shook his head, she looked reluctant to listen, but thankfully she did anyways.

Naruto knew he had the advantage of the element of surprise when he realized that no one had noticed him, slowly creeping closer to the crazed man, he noticed Rei was watching him with a worried expression as he saw his reflection on the store windows. He was too careless, as he wasn't the only one to realize his reflection.

"Think you can sneak up on me!" The knife wielding man yelled as he swiftly spun around, slashing at the blond. The girl was thrown at the ground, very roughly as blood was flowing from her injured forehead. Her friends quickly grabbed their things as they ran to her side, trying to stop the blood as they moved Ino further away from the two fighting males. Ino could do nothing but watch them fight, her own memory tugging at her, as she watched her fellow blond fighting to save them. His eye's were the tipping the scale of her memory of many years past, as a small annoying boy who was so bright and vibrant as he yelled at a boy who was the exact opposite of him dark and gloomy, it was the usual sight as she played with a girl with bright natural pink hair and many others.

'Naruto? Who knew you would end up so handsome after all these years.' Ino thought, as Kiba was freaking out at how quickly they were becoming surrounded.

"shit!" The blood was attracting the undead zombies nearby, he had to finish this quickly and move on. Naruto saw an opportunity as the man got distracted by the surrounding undead closing in on them. He kicked the knife away, it landed a few meters from them then he punched the mans bulging stomach as he toppled over, Naruto kicked his stomach again, he didn't want the man to get up again.

"NO! I don't want to die!" The man screamed, as the Ino and her companions took the opportunity to place some of her blood on him as he remained immobilized by pain. The undead were attracted to both of them as more and more appeared, Naruto ran to the vehicle as Rei unlocked it for him. Just seconds before he was about to close the door and drive off he remembered those kids he grew up with. He couldn't abandon them, he stopped and yelled at the other group who was slowly running out of options to run away with Ino.

"If you want to live come with me!" As soon as the other group jumped into the SUV, Naruto drove off, gruesome screams following behind them as the man they abandoned, as they all assumed was being eaten alive. The drive was mostly silent, except for the calming words Shikamaru was whispering into Ino's ears.

"Thank you Naruto." Ino rasped, as she laid against Shikamaru while Kiba was nervously dressing her wound with the sleeve of his school uniform.

"Naruto?" Kiba and Shikamaru asked in unison, they had no idea that it was Naruto who was their hero.

"Yeah its me, Shika, Kiba. Surprised you didn't notice?" Naruto replied, Rei listening to the normal conversation, she supposed they all needed something normal after leaving a man to their death. Her heart was still pounding in fear, it would have only taken one lucky hit for all of this to go the other way, she was going to get angry at him later for so recklessly going into danger like that. But as she thought more about she decided now she would let him off the hook, when she realized he knew them. She listened to the conversation, as she was added in a few times, Naruto introduced her, even though they started on a bad foot, she was slowly warming up to the blond.

"I thought you would've been going out with either Sakura or Hinata by now man, I feel sorry for those girls." Kiba joked, as he finished up completely bandaging himself and Ino, who was in the middle of bandaging Shikamaru. The vehicle went silent after that, Naruto refused to speak, as Rei looked at Naruto very quickly before looking down again as she realized that he also lost people close to him. Shikamaru was getting the hint as Naruto's grip on the wheel tightened as his fingers turned white at the force.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked, they feared for the worst as they waited for the blond to speak, Rei also looked at him with saddened curiosity.

"They... didn't make it." Naruto barely made it out, he had parked next to the convenience store Rei had gasped at earlier. He knew it held something significant to her, otherwise he wouldn't have made the drive back there.

"Oh no." Ino cried, memories of the girls she grew up with clouded her mind. Then the unthinkable passed through her mind, she had to know.

"Are they-?" Ino cried out, before she could finish Naruto cut her off.

"No! They're not." Naruto quickly answered, that would be his first question as well if he thought about going against them, he wasn't sure of he would be able to at all.

Ino cried silently, while the boys bowed their heads, praying for the girls they once knew. Naruto moved his attention to Rei who didn't take her eyes off the blood stained window on the second floor. As Naruto looked at the entrance, he could see the dents on the metal doors. But it looked like nothing broke in, he needed a closer look.

Naruto left the vehicle, but before he closed the door, he grabbed a metal pipe that he found near him. Rei jumped out as soon as he moved to the back door. Rei needed to know, she had to find their answer.

"Is this your home?" Naruto asked as he moved closer to the door, in the corner of his eye he could see Rei shaking her head, indicating it wasn't.

"Do you know who's-"

"Its Takashi's, this is his family's store, they live on the second floor.

"Then we shouldn't."

"But he has to know, he-he has too."

"Then he should be the one to come here and find the answer on his own. It would be better, and he may find closure if the ending result wasn't the desired one." Naruto held her as she decided to go on her own, she had to know.

"Rei! This is not the time, this is Takashi's home anyway it doesn't look like anyone is here." Rei stopped struggling, and Naruto hugged her from behind, trying to calm her, and himself. He didn't want to lose anyone anymore, even if it was a girl he barely knew. Rei couldn't help the tears going down her face as she was so close to opening the door, but the thought of being the one to deliver the terrible news if behind this closed door was the bodies of his entire family, she wouldn't be able to tell him. She gave up fighting against Naruto, as her hand fell to her side, she fell silent and Naruto took a deep breath keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"Can we pretend we were never here?" Rei asked, she was barely able to hold the tears, Naruto turned her around as he nodded his head, as he hugged her close again.

"Yeah, we can. You can believe it." Naruto nodded, as he released their hug. As they walked back to where they parked, Naruto noticed flashing lights at the end of the street. Before he went to see what the lights were, Rei grabbed the back of his uniform, with the lightest hold he stopped moving as he listened to what she wanted to say.

"Thank-you." Rei whispered. Naruto merely nodded as he grabbed her hand slowly guiding her to the parked vehicle, when they almost arrived, Rei also noticed the flashing lights.

"Naruto, there-".

"I know, I was going to go alone. Numbers would only attract more unwanted attention. When you get inside lock the doors until you either you see me come back or else its been more than twenty minutes."

"Don't be ridiculous, I am not letting you go alone." Rei sharply replied as she let go of his hand, and began to go towards the flashing lights location. With Naruto swiftly moving behind her, she dragged him towards the flashing lights. When they arrived it was a police car, it looked like someone had crashed into them given the panic that they had earlier that day, Naruto didn't doubt it. However Rei didn't seem to be concerned about any of the details as she walked to the door, opening it. Naruto followed her eye's, she was looking at the deceased officers belt, it was a handgun. she reached over the dead cops body, clutching at his belt, Naruto ready to pull her out if things weren't as they seemed, but his fears were put to rest as the cops were completely dead.

"That was one gutsy move, I don't know if I would have taken that risk, considering what we've seen so far."

"I didn't want to be a burden anymore."

"If it went wrong, you'd be no ones problem anymore."

"What?!"

"It's true, while it seemed like a good idea to get a gun in this situation, but you didn't even bother to see if was safe at all before reaching into the patrol car and grabbing the gun. They could have been like those _**things**_ and grabbed your arm, and made you dinner."

"Well it didn't happen at all, so your argument isn't of any importance anymore."

"It's not about this one time, it's also going to save your life in the future, if you just stop and think about what you are going to do next. Just jumping into things like this, if you have a death wish, let me know! I don't need that, I have to get back to my little brother alive, and I don't need you to get me killed before I return to him!"

"I don't want to die!"

"Don't be stupid then, and just stay by my side. I'll protect you, for as long as I can." Naruto walked away, missing the light blush on Rei's cheeks, as she muttered about stupid blonds.

Upon returning to the car, Naruto jumped into the passenger seat, making Rei take the drivers seat. He needed to rest, his arm was burning with pain. She drove uneasily, but it was already too late, Naruto had already passed out.

"Let him sleep, I'd tell you to do the same, but given the fact that we aren't as easy-going as this guy, I would say that it would be nearly impossible for anyone of us to fall asleep that easily." Shikamaru chuckled at his own comment, as well as the others.

"It's nice to know he hasn't changed at all, thank god. After all we went through as children, even I have to say I've changed." Ino sighed, as her gaze stayed on the sleeping blond.

"Naruto has changed, haven't you guys noticed, he isn't loud, doesn't look for trouble, he's actually taking in his surroundings, working logically. I have never seen him doing anything like that for all the years we've known him."

"It's like he's become a second Sasuke." The three in the back went silent, reminiscing about the past, wondering if anyone else from their childhood was still among the living.

"Sasuke? Naruto's right hand man?" Rei asked, she was curious as to how long they have known each other.

"You know Sasuke?!" Ino couldn't hide the happiness in her voice as she thought about the stoic little raven haired boy she had once loved, she had known him for years, even before he became stoic, and was actually shy and very sweet.

"Yeah, he was with us when we escaped from school. We are supposed to meet them, along with others at the center on town."

"Then you better let Kiba drive, he can get us there probably before they even arrive."

"Hell yeah, they don't call me the 'dog of speed' for nothing!" Kiba boasted, as he and Rei awkwardly switched seats, they didn't want to risk going outside for various reasons. Rei couldn't help but sweat-drop at the nickname Kiba had. But she didn't doubt it as they sped through the city, passing many undead, despite the many road blocks ahead, he passed them like they weren't even there. The ride was surprisingly very smooth, at every sharp turn the teen made, Naruto slept like nothing was amiss in the world.

"Darn guy hasn't changed at all, sleeping while the world goes to shit." Shikamaru drawled out, as he observed the blond teen he had grown up with many years prior.

"Really? This is the first time I have ever seen him this relaxed, even before this whole mess." Rei was shocked, she had often seen the blond in school, he was always very tense. But when he was in the Kendo club, she actually went to one of his matches, as he dominated the other team his skill even made her admit that the boy was beautiful.

"So things have changed after all." Shikamaru mused, ignoring Rei's curious gaze as he tended to Ino's wound.

"Are you two an item?" Rei asked, but was taken aback when Ino burst out laughing, but quickly quieted down as she clutched her head in pain.

"No, we aren't. Even though it may not look like it, but we are cousins through our mothers." Shikamaru answered for her, he was used to the blonds outburst. She was like a sister to him, and _he_ was always like a brother, it was scary to think about what may have happened to the teen his mind thought about. Shikamaru lost himself to his thoughts, desperately trying to calm his overworking mind.

"I'm about an hour outside the center of time if we go around, but I should be there in about five hours if we go straight." Kiba said, as he continued driving, before slowing down outside a building. It was still dark out, as the clock was nearing 3 am.

"Why such a huge difference in time?" Ino asked, her body was begging her for sleep as she forced to keep herself awake.

"Look over there, everyone is trying what I don't plan on doing." Kiba said as he pointed at the huge traffic of vehicles quite a distance in front of them.

"Lets go around, we may have a better chance than staying here. I don't like being near such a huge populace, didn't like it before, and don't like it even more now."

"Copy that boss." Kiba called back, as he turned the SUV around. Stepping on the gas, he wanted to go even faster, because he remembered some of the men that they met on the other side of town, slowly destroying every building they passed, enjoying the end of the world. He looked around at their surroundings, and noticed some of their handiwork, assuming they were ahead of them, Kiba moved to the back alleys. They flew down the alleys, zooming across roads, passing many men with guns, and a flame thrower. Kiba was glad he avoided most of them, and turned down a street before they could attempt to shoot them.

"That was really close."

"Good work Kiba, if they got us, I'd only feel sorry for them if they woke up blondzilla in the front seat."

"Don't remind me of my nightmares Shika, not while I'm driving and have him so damn close to me." Kiba cried, as he moved his attention back to the road. Rei was beginning to like these people that they saved, it was almost relieving at how they could calm her down from the reality outside. The time seemed to fly by, as she got caught up in a conversation with Ino who she got along with smoothly. Rei realized after awhile, that Ino was the same idol she had read about recently, who also appeared in a few movies already. They were talking even more adamantly as they found some things they had in common, before the world turned for the worse.

* * *

><p>The sun was high in the sky, as they five teens waited at one of the blocked off bridges. Impatience were evident on both Naruto and Rei, as they couldn't help but fear for the worse. Naruto grabbed the gun that Rei clung to, she looked at him confused, until she realized what he was going to do.<p>

"Naruto you can't go alone, thats crazy, you won't make it." Rei whispered harshly, but quickly recoiled at the glare Naruto gave her.

"I am not going to sit here, while my brother is waiting for me to come back to him. I may be all he has left, and he is mine." Naruto whispered back, he gave her a slight hug, his way of apologizing for his glare. It was a bit awkward, but Naruto didn't stop in his stride as he walked away. Walking across the bridge, he noticed some people with children were slowly getting surrounded ahead of him. With a second look, he jolted into a run, he knew Kiba was running after him, he could here the brunette scream that he won't make it in time. But his natural instincts brought out his combat trained muscles as he raised the gun, and shot nearly every zombie he could see, as he could see Hirano shooting down quite a few himself, while Sasuke and Saeko slashed many down. Naruto was doing the math in head quite naturally, counting every shot he fired, he had 3 bullets left. Not counting the spare rounds that Rei had hidden in the vehicle.

Running to the group he saved, he scanned at every person they had, looking for his little tuft of red hair in the bunch. His heart was pounding in fear, he could feel himself slowly hyperventilating, his running wasn't helping his breathing at all. Falling to the ground right before Saya, as she cried out in happiness, pulling him into his arms, Takashi, and Sasuke walked up to him as well. Concern was on all of their faces, until his aunt came up to him, a small child in her arms, his baby brother Kyuubi. The boy refused to open his eyes, until Naruto whispered his name, slowly his eyes opened, revealing bright blue eyes, mirrored by his own. Naruto pulled the small child in his arms, letting the boy cry into his shoulder. The godly blond they had come to know seemed to become human in their eyes. Kiba, and Sasuke helped bring the blond up, while the small child was in his arms. Shizuka recognized the feral looking boy beside her nephews, she smiled at him causing the teen to blush furiously, while Sasuke muttered that he was an idiot. The reunited friends bickered in front of Naruto, as they walked the group to their own, that was waiting for them.

As the three teens noticed Naruto, and Rei's group approaching them, it didn't surprise them when Rei ran out to them. Takashi expected her to run up to him, he opened his arms ready to catch her if she jumped into his arms. But she ran passed him, to the Naruto checking to see if he was alright. She watched the entire interaction, she would have ran after them as well, but something told her that Naruto had the situation under control as Kiba was hot on his heels. She also witnessed the blond collapse to the ground, until Kyuubi was in his older brothers arms. She inspected the blond, seeing if he was injured in any way from the night before. But when she realized nothing was wrong, she punched the blond on the head for making her worry like that. The act itself nearly brought tears to Naruto's eyes, memories of the girl he loved flashed in his mind. He shook his head, as he apologized to his new friend.

Saeko walked up to the embarrassed Takashi, asking him if he was alright.

"I just assumed a different interaction."

"It's doesn't seem like something scandalous happened between them, so you don't have to worry, look here she comes." Saeko pointed out as they notice Rei walking up to Takashi, hugging him tightly.

The two groups were introduced to each other, with the exception of the few people that Kiba's group already knew. When they had a calm atmosphere, Naruto asked why they weren't in the bus. That is when Takashi explained to them that Shido gave them the choice of staying, and be under his tutelage, or leave. They all chose to find the blond, while the others stayed behind with the teacher.

"False security, so that was what he was planning." Naruto spat out, as he passed his sleepy brother to Sasuke, who carried the boy with ease. The others looked at him, slowly understanding what the conversation that they had.

"He planned this from the beginning?" Saya almost screamed at the blond, before Takashi placed a hand on her shoulder bringing her attention to the passed out boy, it gave Naruto the perfect opportunity to explain before his cousin was lost on her own rampage at how idiotic he was.

"Not entirely, he was insinuating that I take the leadership position. But I knew he had something else up his sleeve, it must run in the family." Naruto whispered out the last part, as everyone else calmed themselves, some guilty at assuming that the blond was in league with the slithery man. While in lost in silence, Hirano raised his hand out of mere habit, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"Whats the plan from here on out?" He asked, which started a debate about where such a large group could stay with out being crowded.

"We can go to my friends place, she is out of town, and lets me crash there. It isn't very far from here, and big enough for everyone to sleep for the night." Shizuka mused, as she walked to the direction of her friends home, before the teens could agree with her plan

"Great, lets get going." Naruto couldn't help but laugh out, following his aunt while everyone else followed him. Naruto noticed from the corner of his eye that Rei had run to pick up the extra bullets she had hidden away. Takashi couldn't help but notice Naruto's gaze following Rei, it was as if something did happen between them, but he couldn't bring himself to ask what it was, half afraid of what he might hear. Naruto quickly noticed Takashi's attitude, as the boy walked with them, his gaze set on the ground.

'I better talk with him when we're alone.' Naruto thought, as he took in his surroundings. He noticed where they were going, his combat teachers place, he knew what his aunt said was true, there would definitely be a lot of room for everyone.

* * *

><p>The place was almost like a fortress on the outside, and very homely on the inside. Everyone felt safe the moment they passed the metal gates at the entrance, quickly shuffling into the large home, nearly everyone went exploring. They found two full baths on the first and third floor, with four bedrooms, two had bunk beds, while the other two had queen mattresses, and a master bedroom with a king size bed on the second and basement floor. The kitchen was on the first floor with the living room. The house was almost like a mansion on the inside, while on the outside it didn't seem that huge at all. As soon as everyone made their way to the kitchen with Naruto, and Shizuka who were enjoying a hot cup of tea, with many cups on the table waiting for each guest in the home they were staying in, and a juice box waiting for Kyuubi. Everyone grabbed their own cup of tea, it was a tranquil silence despite the occasional slurp coming from the smallest one in their group.<p>

"We should decide where everyone is going to sleep for the night." Naruto said, as everyone talked amongst themselves. Rei latched herself unto Ino, while Saeko said that they girls can have a small slumber party in the master bedroom they discovered. Shizuka joined in the girls conversation, as they planned on taking one of the queen sized mattresses to make more room for all the females.

"Kyuubi is with me, so that leaves only Sasuke, Takashi, Kiba, Hirano, and Shikamaru. With only four beds to spare for the five of you, which leaves me with the decision with who gets to sleep with me and Kyuubi on the queen bed, and I choose you Takashi." Naruto pointed at Takashi, with a serious expression on his face. The others didn't hesitate to pat him on the back before leaving them alone. Takashi swore he heard three of them mutter something about blondzilla, before they left to claim their beds, and roommates for the night. The girls didn't care to pay attention to them as they all talked about wanting to try out the bath together, as Saya grabbed Kyuubi claiming that he is was the lucky boy to bathe with all the beautiful women, while the child retorted that she was a crazy hag, before squealing his way to the bath, with Saya hot on his heels. Saeko pulled the blond teen to the side, telling him that he better strip all of his clothes, as well as the other boys. Takashi felt it was a rather hot suggestion until she finished what she was saying about doing laundry after bathing.

Takashi couldn't hide his blush, as Naruto gave him a knowing grin along side Saeko before she left with the other women, and little boy. Naruto didn't waste any time taking off his clothes, being very careful about his arm, which Takashi noticed almost immediately, as he looked at the tan body beside him, noticing every bit of muscle until his gaze stopped at the ugly white scar on the left side of his back. Naruto noticed Takashi's gaze, before the blond noticed his own arm, forgetting about the large scar on his back, he thought that Takashi was concerned about the light laceration from the man who held Ino hostage.

"Don't worry about it, this isn't that bad. Not as bad as it could have been, just have to clean and bandage it, then I'll be like new." Naruto smiled at the younger teen, as he continued to strip down until was completely naked. Takashi didn't feel as comfortable as the blond beside him, as he slowly took off his own uniform, his gaze still on the scar.

"I have some spare clothes here, also quite a few underwear for guests. Lets say, I've crashed here quite often over the years." Naruto called over his shoulder as he walked to a closet beside the winding staircase beside the kitchen. Just as the blond said, he had spare clothes as he pulled out underwear from the same closet, each one was still in its package.

"We can grab my clothes, but I don't have enough shirts for all of us." Naruto said as he put on one of the guest underwear. Walking up the stairs, beckoning Takashi to follow him as the younger teen noticed the scar once again on the front of the blond, on the left side of his chest. Naruto didn't seem to notice Takashi's gaze as he continued up the stairs, going into the room across the master bedroom, it was once his room during his time training under the insane woman his aunt called her friend. Walking into the room was almost nostalgic as he made his way to the small dresser, with held all the clothes he left there, he grabbed all the shorts, a couple of sweat pants he knew would fit Hirano. He didn't lie when he said he didn't have enough shirts, the woman he called teacher always made sure he had to buy a new shirt after every training regimen. Three shirts were all he had left, that were unscathed. Takashi looked at all the clothes laying on the queen sized bed, he assumed he and Naruto would be sleeping on, with the little red head. The little voice in the back of his head told him he should have told the blond he could take the couch.

"Here this should be your size." Naruto said as he threw a pair of blue shorts at Takashi, before he put on a red shirt and a navy sweat pant himself. As the blond was fully dressed, Takashi could understand why the blond wore a shirt instead of asking the others if they wanted it. Takashi dressed himself quickly as the blond waited for him, holding the small pile of clothes in his arm.

"You must be wondering why I'm torturing you, in truth I just want to talk to you." Naruto said as they walked down the hallway, and down the stairs.

"About what?" Takashi asked, curious about what Naruto wanted to talk to him about.

"You may not know this, but I have noticed you before. Around the school, and no. I'm not secretly in love with you, I just know that you were Saya's childhood friend. From the few times I saw you around, you were always so sure of yourself, at least until recently." Naruto voiced his thoughts, he noticed the frustration radiating off of the boy in front of him as they stopped walking.

"I can't help it, I'm not you!" Takashi slumped down on the step he was one, sitting down as the blond followed his example.

"You don't have to be, its not like I am almighty."

"But you have this thing about you that almost makes you invincible! Even earlier when you seemed human for a moment, you turn back into some godly being."

"I had no idea that I was this amazing." Naruto said blandly, which made Takashi think it was a mocking tone.

"You don't have to make fun of me." Takashi sighed, unable to explain how he was feeling.

"I'm not, I sort of understand what your saying. But honestly, I am human, I can be taken down just as easily as any other person out there. I know one day my luck with fade, and I will have to face my fate. I am just not going to go without a fight." Naruto smiled at Takashi sadly, he was glad for this talk he was having.

"How can you be human, when you can do almost everything?" Takashi asked, his frustration was slowly melting away.

"I can't cook for the life of me, or sing a single note in tune, and just recently I couldn't even save my friends life." Naruto pointed out his flaws, the last one was still a fresh scar on his heart, but he always brought himself to look forward to the future, even if this one was not one he wished to have, but it was the only one left.

"Why are you trying so hard to help me?"

"You remind me of myself quite some time ago, before I became this godly person I didn't know I gave off. I just know, that if Sasuke, and I weren't here you'd be the one to step up to take up leadership of everyone here."

"I can't do something like this-"

"No I believe you can, more than you think. You already gave off the required aura in the beginning when you were inside the school. But if you're more like me than I thought, then it's going to take action to get you to believe me. Now lets go get those guys naked." The blond said happily, before freezing in place a second later.

"I totally did not mean to sound like that!" Naruto sweat-dropped as Takashi laughed away. They walked down to the basement, giving the boys the clothes that the blond assumed would fit them. When they were all done getting dressed, only Naruto, Hirano, and Shikamaru were fully dressed. Naruto was pulled aside by Sasuke, the raven seemed to be whispering something to the blond, almost like a silent argument was occurring, Kiba pulled Takashi aside.

"You seen Naruto's scar?"

"The one on his chest and back?"

"Yup you did, no wonder Sasuke is pissed."

"Why would he be angry about it?"

"Because it's Sasuke's biggest failure, he's been Naruto's bodyguard for years, well he was his bodyguard."

"What?!"

"Yup, he was-"

"You and your big mouth Kiba." Shikamaru drawled as he retreated the book he hit Kiba with, back to his side. Learning something new, almost every couple of hours since meeting the blond, made Takashi's curiosity about him grow even more. He quickly noticed the other guys walking back upstairs, Naruto and Sasuke already made their way back upstairs.

"You are one strange, and mysterious person Naruto Uzumaki." Takashi thought out loud, as he made his way back up stairs. He could hear the girls laughing away, as he walked up the stairs, they were in the living room playing with the small pouting child, who could almost pass for a little girl if he didn't know who he actually was. Takashi went to the balcony, taking the spot next to the blond, as he looked down the street, watching a dog bark away in the distance. Takashi looked up at the sky, noticing a shooting star, he didn't feel childish when he wished for everyone to remain safe in the days to come. Takashi noticed that the tense blond was looking at something else besides the dog before he ran to the door. Takashi looked at the same direction the blond was, there in the distance was a little girl with a man he assumed was her father. He could see the hordes of the undead the dog was attracting heading towards them. Takashi didn't hesitate before he ran out the door as well, on his way to help the child and her father. He only hoped that they would make it in time, as he followed the teen in front of him, a metal pipe tossed his way.

"You're more like me than I thought."

* * *

><p>Can You Believe this,<p>

I updated, finally!

It took me two years to finish this chapter, my muse came in little tid bits

like I've been saying, I never give up on a story. I just work until I finally finish

I hope you like this chapter.

Hopefully the next one won't take me forever to finish.


	3. Journey to a Safe Haven

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or H.O.T.D**_

**Summary: Naruto, his brother and his best-friend, try to live each and every day they can with other survivors they have met along the way.**

_**Just to let people know I will only let Sasuke, Naruto, and Kyuubi be the main characters from Naruto be in here, and others would be minor characters along with the main characters from the H.O.T.D**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 3: <strong>_

_**On The Journey To A Safe Haven  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><em>Crowds of people flowed through the streets rushing to their intended destinations, and he was no different as he weaved back and forth through the overpopulated street. Being this late to meet her was a big deal in his mind as he would always try his best to stay on her good side, after all she held his heart in the palm of her hand even though she didn't know it. The grand fountain in the centre of the downtown district was their intended meeting place, his heart was pounding in his chest when he got closer to the fountain his mind was racing with countless thoughts of why she wanted to meet him there, the most romantic place in all of town.<em>

_"Naruto! Over here!" She beckoned him loudly announcing her location. He was stunned when he saw her, she was beautiful with her long locks of pink hair, and glowing emerald eyes as she waved at him. The same thought repeated in his mind, 'she held his heart at the palm of her hand, even though she __doesn't know this fact'._

_"There you are, this place is crowded. Did we have to talk here?" he groaned as he walked towards her with a blush growing on his face, he hoped that it would be mistaken for his unkempt appearance since he ran from the train station in hopes of being on time, only to utterly fail to realized that nearly everyone else had the same thought as him._

_"Yes! You know its the only way we can have a private conversation." she puffed her cheeks, he was at a loss for words, with the way her lips glistened as she spoke, her glossy hair with the shiny fountain water shooting into the sky behind her, and the intensity of her emerald eyes as she only saw him, shaking his head he fervently tried to listen to what she was saying. _

_"Here? In the most crowded place you can imagine?" he squeaked, barely able to comprehend the world around them. She was oblivious at times to a boys feelings toward her, especially his._

_"Hehe." she giggled, as if just realizing just how many people were wandering around them, pushing and shoving to get an inch through the crowd._

_"Okay then, what's the big news you wanted me to know?" he began, finally reigning his feelings aside to hear what she had wanted to tell him, praying that she had finally realized his feelings after all these years, but also quite terrified with this fact if she did realize and did not feel the same way, but her happiness was radiant. Naruto knew that either way he would be happy just to be by her side, so he braced himself for what she was going to say._

_"I'm finally going to do it! I am going to confess tomorrow after school!" She proclaimed, she told me this once before but that was a long time ago when we were kids. She used to tell me all the time about her love for our mutual friend, Sasuke Uchiha, and every time I told myself I would be prepared if she made her decision. My heart was breaking as I congratulated her for her bravery, even though I was breaking inside, I would never let those feelings show, especially when she was so happy._

_'I wish it was me you loved.'_

_That was the day before the end..._

* * *

><p>Slight movement on the bed had woken Naruto who was a little disoriented from his fatigue. Looking to his side he could see it was Takashi getting up from yet another nightmare, while Kyuubi still snored away undisturbed by the slight noise and movement, that kid was always able to sleep like a rock. Naruto watched as Takashi left the bedroom to go back out into the living room, to calm his nerves once again it seemed. Before Takashi left the bedroom he was unaware that his slight movements he made woke up the blond, it was understandable because he was a light sleeper.<p>

After Takashi was gone Naruto moved his gaze to the eerily white ceiling in the darkening room as the light radiating from the open door dimmed slightly as time passed as the door slowly closed, his mind wandered to his dream. The one he was talking to in his dream was a female, even though the memory of the dream was a little bit fuzzy, he didn't have to see who it was to know who he was talking to. He already knew what the dream was about, as his memories started to fill in the blanks of a nervously happy teenage pink haired girl with shining emerald eyes that were filled with knowledge and a fiery personality that placed them in trouble plenty of times, and that's why he loved her.

Thinking more about his dream, he realized that even though it felt like an eternity it wasn't that long at all. There was more to that day than just her telling him that she was going to finally confess her love to the bastard he called his best-friend, but after she reeled in her feelings for twelve years, he couldn't be mad at either of them. Naruto remembered when she smiled at him, happy about her decision that's when he knew that his heart was going to beat like crazy by the time she looked at him straight in the eyes, and it would also break into a million pieces by the time she told his best friend her true feelings about him after all theses years. It was her smile that made her memory all the more unfathomable to comprehend that she was gone never to return, he was in love with her for years since the moment he set his eyes on her when they met in kindergarten.

"That was only a couple days ago, when Sakura told me she was going to confess. She was so happy..." Naruto thought aloud, rubbing his eye's as traitorous tears poured out uncontrollably he cried in silence with the memory of Sakura haunting his mind. As the last of his tears for that moment stopped, Naruto knew he had to get up to take a look at his injuries, as he got up from the bed looking at his arm, he could see the wound starting to crust over, healing as well is it could get without the medical supplies that his aunt needed to patch up his arm. Then to the bruises on his stiffened legs, from his most recent endeavor with the boy that he shared a bed with his dear little brother, it was still strenuously painful to move them but he had no choice in the matter. Moving was essential to staying alive, he had to learn to ignore pain if he ever wants to do what he did once again.

* * *

><p><strong>Flash back: The night before<strong>

* * *

><p>"You're more like me than I thought." Naruto said as he passed Takashi a metal pipe. Takashi stood in place for a few seconds as he watched the blond run towards to the growing mob of the undead. The adrenaline coursed through his body in seconds as he ran after the blond, moving with ease, Takashi didn't think about anything as he smashed all the undead around him. His mind didn't register anything other than getting to his goal, that little girl and her father. They were alive, really alive. Not dead, wandering around munching on anything with a pulse. He ran after the blond, his guide to his goal. The blond was cloaked in blood, until the point where the undead couldn't tell him apart from the others, they were now after him. Then the gunshots sounded from behind, looking back behind him Takashi had quickly noticed that Hirano was sniping the undead from the balcony. With new found resolve Takashi bolted to the gates where he knew that the little girl would be with her father.<p>

The stench of rotting flesh, and blood increased with every step forward that he took, invading his senses as he struggled to get closer to the gate they saw them go through. Mere seconds before he reached the gate he could hear Naruto screaming out in pain, and the cling of metal as Naruto's screams increased. Takashi pushed forward as he was nearly at the gate his mind taking a turn for the worse thinking that Naruto was bit, Takashi fought as much as he could smashing every undead in his way.

The scene that greeted him when he finally made it was a bloodied Naruto on the ground caressing his legs, next was the older man who he thought was the girls father looking at the two teenagers with fear in his widened eyes, as his nostrils flared up in a dangerous looking way. The older man didn't realize that there was a few undead that managed to sneak up behind him as he clutched the metal pipe Naruto was using to fight his way here. Takashi didn't have time to warn the man before the undead grabbed him with their steel grip and chomped on him before he could fight them off. His screams were a death sentence for the boys as Takashi tried to lift up Naruto who looked to be in a lot of pain.

"Forget me, get the girl." Naruto pushed him away as he pinpointed her hiding place for Takashi. She was hiding in the bushes beside the gate, frozen in place as her gaze was locked on the prone form of her deceased father.

"But-"

"Go! I can still walk." Naruto cut him off, as he steadied himself against the wall. Even though his face told Takashi just how much pain he was in Naruto punched him trying to push him to run to the little girl, Takashi was frozen with by the shocking blow the blond had hit him with. Exasperated Naruto forcefully pushed himself towards the gate, his every step looked shaky until he reached the gate using his weight to close it until it clicked closed. While Takashi watched him he coaxed the little girl to come out. She didn't hesitate to grab unto Naruto crying as quiely as she could manage while fearing that the _monsters_ would hear her. Takashi grabbed the little girl holding her close to his chest while watching the blonds every move. He could tell it took every bit of will in the blond just to stand, as his knee's buckled every so often while looking for a way out.

"Hey Takashi help me up." Naruto whispered as he motioned to the wall, the overflowing amount of undead just on the other side trying to get them.

"What are you planning!" growled Takashi while observing the blonds reaction; however, the blond just smiled at him even though it looked strained.

"We are going to walk to the end of the block." Naruto replied positioning himself to be hoisted up the wall. It was tall enough so that the undead couldn't reach them, it seemed to be their only way out of the current situation. Takashi quickly put the girl down to lift Naruto up the wall, he was unsure of them walking across the brick wall with the little girl on his back, and Naruto walking along the narrow stone fence with injured legs.

'I have to find out what happened, maybe Hirano saw something through that scope of his.' Takashi thought to himself as he hoisted himself up with the girl on his back, following the limping blonds lead. Takashi could hear Naruto's labored breathing the closer they got to the end of the block where it seemed like Sasuke and Saeko were waiting, as well as that small dog that was barking before they left to get the girl on his back. When they finally reached the end of the wall far away from the swarm of undead, Sasuke and Saeko ran to them as if knowing Naruto was in pain, before Takashi knew it Naruto jumped down from the wall with Sasuke and Saeko catching him before he reached the ground. While Takashi carefully climbed down, watching out for the little girl who held unto him like a baby koala. She was quiet the entire way, he knew she must be traumatized after witnessing the death of her father. When they reached the other three teenagers he noticed how they were careful to set him down on his feet, that's when Takashi noticed the heavy sweat on his red face, as the blond gritted his teeth. They quickly walked to their current safe haven, although thanks to the large amount of undead in the area they would have to leave soon.

"What happened Naruto, you're covered in blood?!" Sasuke growled once they locked the gates to the house they were currently occupying, his anger intensifying from his glowering expression as he closed in on the wounded blond who was barely able to support himself as he leaned against a nearby wall, despite his position he didn't back down to accommodate to Sasuke's temper as he cocked back his fist and punched his raven haired best friend square in the jaw. Takashi would have been more impressed by this feat if the blond in front of him didn't managed to punch him in the process as well and use him as a landing cushion as they plummeted to the ground do to his lack of support from the wall.

"It was a misunderstanding you stupid idiot." The stubborn blond grunted as Saeko helped them up with the little girl who helped her even though she was on the verge of crying. Takashi witnessed as Sasuke went to her side while he nursed his pained jaw delicately showing her various silly expression she looked uninterested at first until Naruto chuckled embarrassing him until she burst out laughing at his demise since everyone around him saw his pathetic attempt to cheer her up,

* * *

><p><strong>End of Flashback<strong>

* * *

><p>Naruto pushed himself up off the bed grabbing the crutches on the wall, he was thankful that his old teacher was prepared for nearly anything, although he knew personally that zombie apocalypse was not one of the things she was preparing for since most of the stuff was meant for invasions. While Naruto slowly walked to the living room with a little difficulty on his crutches he loathed at the fact that he would have to bathe soon having to soak his aching muscles, but he wanted to see how Takashi was doing since he could relate to horrible nightmares plaguing your every thought. Upon reaching the living room after two flight of stairs, Naruto saw Takashi was immersed in a deep conversation with Hirano asking him questions about what happened to his legs. Hirano told Takashi what little he saw since he was looking out for him, but he did see Naruto get hit by the older man a few times until Takashi reached the scene, but he didn't know why or how he got the pipe from the blond. Naruto grimaced at the memory as he saw the man on top of him holding the metal pipe, a familiar crazed smile that brought horrible memories along with the long forgotten mental scaring.<p>

'Why now of all times?' Naruto thought to himself, falling against the wall barely able to support himself Naruto felt himself breaking slowly as his breathing became haggard as he tried gasping for air as the memories came rushing back. They were of his past when he was a kid who didn't care about his actions and did as he wished. Sasuke was always beside him dealing with anyone who posed as a threat, he was trained day and night to protect him; however, they both know that his training went to waste by the one person they thought they could trust.

"If I ever find you, if you're even alive in this god-forsaken world I'll kill you. I'll kill you before any of those monsters get you, you bastard and I'll be smiling so you'll know even with your last breath that I enjoyed every moment of it." Croaked Naruto as tears flowed form his reddening eyes, wiping his tears away Naruto made his way to the closest bathroom so that he can soak in the bath until he calmed down from the unsought of brutal memories that returned to him.

Naruto knew that he had to get everyone to safety first and that he had to heal before he can find that man who haunted his memories, the one who broke everything he believed in. When Naruto arrived in the tiled bathroom he quickly noticed that the bath was already prepared with hot water, he merely assumed someone else bathed before him as he slowly and painfully undressed Naruto traced his scar on his chest as the memories slowly revealed the true origins of his scar. Trembling from the memory fragment of what he barely remembered Naruto clutched his head as his willpower was nearly pushed to the limit as he held back the scream he wanted to unleash, although he still was in control of his body knowing full well that if he screamed it would mean death to the other occupants of the house. The bathroom seemed to have shrink in size as Naruto looked at his surroundings, fear seemed to envelop him as he clutched his arms as he sat on the ledge of the bath, he didn't want to be alone as his old demons were making him question what was real and what wasn't.

"I knew it, you did remember." Sasuke whispered gravely as he opened the door revealing himself to the frightened blond, as he looked at Naruto with a regretful expression. Naruto didn't reply, he didn't have to since Sasuke had already figured out what was wrong with him. Sasuke balled up his fist as he stared at his now broken best friend, who's eyes clouded over revealing the frighteningly inner workings of his mind, his eyes were always expressing what he was feeling. Sasuke would always stay by the blonds side during these times, until the blond forgot as he always did. No one blamed him for wanting to forget all that happened when they were kids, and Sasuke know that he would never be able to do anything to help his friends crisis so he did what he could do as he stayed by Naruto's side and watched over him, knowing that he can never leave after all this was all his fault, his burden to bear and to carry, this was his sin that he can never atone for.

"I'll stay here." Sasuke sighed as he took a spot on the cold tile floor, his companion visibly relaxed as he slowly eased himself into the tub. Sasuke would have helped his friend if the friend in question accepted his help, but even though the blond was mentally breaking he still had his pride. They stayed in a comfortable silence while Naruto bathed, and Sasuke sadly stared at the blonds grotesque scar that was visible from the ceramic bathtub, it was a painful reminder of that particular day that scarred both boys for life.

"I'm sorry." Naruto barely heard the near silent whisper, but he knew what Sasuke was referring too. He doubt that the raven even meant for him to hear, as Naruto will never call him on it, they both didn't need the confrontation, and the blond hoped that they never will.

"I know." Naruto whispered back, he didn't look to see if Sasuke heard it or what his expression would be, he kept his gaze on his distorted reflection on the water as everything returned to silence.

* * *

><p>Next Day<p>

* * *

><p>Daylight was creeping through the cracks of the flowing curtains in front of the open windows. Everyone lay in their own beds sleeping away while one of their companions remained awake, staring at the world from the balcony of their current sanctuary. Hoards of the undead shuffled just outside on the street, many of them still overran the house down the block where they saved the little girl while her fathers dead body remained in the same spot mauled from the insatiable undead that feasted on his corpse as well as the occupants of the house that nearly had him killed. Naruto assumed that they died shortly after the undead feasted on that little girls father, he heard them scream earlier as he sat outside in the cold air night as everyone including Sasuke slept, but he thought nothing of it since it had become a regular occurrence through the night as people screamed at their last moments all around.<p>

Looking at the house that belonged to his teacher, his aunts best friend, Naruto knew that it would soon succumb to the hoard that were just outside searching for their next victim to consume. They needed to move soon before that happened, Naruto had already packed a few bags that he could before collapsing to the pain with everything he could find that the house had to offer. He knew that his legs would never heal fast enough for them to easily leave right away which is why he was glad for the fact that his aunts friend had a large Humvee that was carefully designed for military use, every part that was in the vehicle was hand picked by the woman that owned it, she always was prepared for anything and everything.

Knowing that time was not in their favor Naruto was not in much of a hurry to wake everyone as he continued to gaze out in the horizon of endless buildings that varied in size, as the every growing moan of the undead filled the air. Looking at the sky Naruto allowed himself to be lost in the scenery before him he was willing to do anything to cloud his mind with anything and it happened to be the sights in front of him. His mind shifted to two beautiful young women with one who had striking pink hair, and shining emerald eyes that glistened as he looked at them, while the other had calming blue hair with pale blue eyes as her expression made him feel at peace as he loved her kind and tender nature.

'Sakura, I miss you so much. I hope you can forgive me for not saving you, even though you hated being weak. You would have been the only person in the world to make that asshole fall in love, after all you made me love you without even trying. Hinata I-' Naruto stifled his crying as he thought about her, he never got a chance to say good bye. Pale arms enveloped him in a warm hug, Naruto didn't check to see who it was who witnessed him breaking down yet again, he didn't care either, as the hug from behind him broke the wall that Naruto held up to keep him from breaking down completely from losing Sakura and Hinata in one day. He cried into his hands to keep himself as quiet as possible as the person behind him hummed a calming tune, tightening their embrace as if telling Naruto that they would be there for him.

* * *

><p>Takashi opened his eyes from his short slumber, he couldn't sleep very well while the other occupant on the bed was an annoying little kid who moved into a new position every few minutes. How he got to sleep earlier in such conditions Takashi will never know, pushing himself up off the bed he noticed that Naruto wasn't in bed anymore with the empty space on the other side of the small red-head being unoccupied. Curiosity propelled the young teen to search for the recovering blond, leaving the bedroom as silently as he could so he wouldn't wake the small child from his slumber, after all who knew how many peaceful nights would they have. Takashi first went to the bathrooms to see if he was in a predicament he couldn't get himself out of, after all Takashi saw those bruises they looked awful swollen purple, red, near black splotches on his thighs stopping just above his knee's. He would not be surprised if the proud blond was stuck on the toilet unable to get up, knocking before opening the door he noticed that it was empty.<p>

Despite the image that the house showed on the outside it was indeed very large on the inside as he searched throughout the basement floor for the blond, before he gave up and walked up the winding flight of stairs to the first floor where the kitchen and living room resided. The entire floor was open space as the everything remained silent, until he heard slight sounds that sounded similar to gasping just on the balcony at the end of the living room, with the curtains flowing in the wind he noticed there were figures on the other side. As he walked closer he noticed the the slight gasping noises were in fact stifled cries, the sound itself brought the feeling of absolute pain in Takashi's mind, until he heard the soft hum of a calming tune. Opening the curtains slightly to see who it was that was hiding such pain, and the person who was trying to help them in their own way. Shock could not begin to describe the sight that he saw, Saeko embracing Naruto from behind humming softly as Naruto cried into his hands trying his best to stay quiet.

Seeing Naruto crying was heartbreaking as the impulsive need to comfort him was overbearing Takashi was torn in between leaving and ignoring everything he saw, or to do the same as Saeko to help the older teen that he looked up too since it was also in his nature to help others. The cries of the brokenhearted blond continued Takashi made his choice as he walked away, Naruto didn't need to feel inferior like he was a shadow of the boy they met at the school just a couple days before. The cries continued as Takashi's decision swayed until he walked back to Naruto and Saeko, Naruto didn't notice his existence while Saeko noticed him almost immediately. He didn't know what he could to help, so he did what he thought would help as he wiped Naruto's tears away. Even though it seemed like it was a little invasive for another boy to be this intimate with another boy, but he knew that even the strongest man can fall, all they had to do was to pick up the pieces and eventually put all the pieces back together one day.

They didn't speak as Saeko continued her humming slowly calming down the blond, they stayed in silence despite the minor sounds that the hoard of the undead made below them. Naruto felt weak after crying for so long, he didn't feel embarrassed that he cried in front of two people, in fact he felt glad in some sort of twisted way that made him feel more mortal as he saw his reflection in their eyes.

"We have to leave before noon." They heard his demanding croaked voice as he looked at them both with the fiercest eyes they had ever seen on the blond, it seemed like he was back after releasing his pain. Takashi mirrored the fierceness along with Saeko as they nodded, despite his act of weakness they knew that he would still be able to function knowing what would be the best for the group, but they thought that the house was the safest place that they could be; however, they had _no idea_ how far from the truth they actually were.

* * *

><p>Despite how the group felt about the safety of their current sanctuary they followed the blonds desires to get ready to leave, since Naruto had all the essentials packed and ready to go, they only grabbed smalls bags for everyone to carry stuffing spare clothes into each bag. Ino looked at everyone in their group as they moved at their own pace while she was finished along with Shikimaru, Sasuke, Kiba, Takashi, Saya, and Seako. Ino looked at Naruto as his face was grim looking through the balcony window, his frown marred his chiseled features, she never like seeing nothing but a smile on face, even when they were kids, she always hated it when he was sad, angry, or just emotionless since they were always relayed to his facial features, it always seemed unnatural, as if everyone who grew up with them read her mind as Kiba placed his hand on her shoulder it was his own way of telling her that he understood.<p>

As everyone else was finished getting ready for their leave from the house they turned to look at Naruto who tensed as if the sight from outside was very bad, and it wasn't just Naruto who showed such tense features the dog that they took in the night before along with Alice as it crouched close to the ground growling at the window. Nearly everyone check to see what was outside, and that's when they realized just how much worse it got outside, the hoard grew in size in the few hours they took to wake and get packed.

"Aunty start the vehicle, boys get the bags and stuff them inside on the backseat. Girls get the kids, and the dog inside the Humvee and strap them in. Saeko! You and Sasuke are to guard the gates until everyone is ready to bust through the gate." Barked Naruto as everyone followed his command, while Takashi stayed behind despite having an order thrown at him along with the other guys, he proceeded to help Naruto outside, down the stairs, and climb into the monstrous vehicle. Things almost seemed to go according to plan, except when the gate broke due to the increasing pressure of the undead that pushed until the gate gave in, before Naruto could yell at them to come into the vehicle, Shizuka drove through the undead as the two teens ran after them and jumped grabbing the handle bars on the outside. They drove through so many undead zombies that he could hear his aunt continue her mantra from the time she drove the bus.

"They're not real people, they're not real people, they're not real people-"

The ride was sketchy as they rammed into many undead until they reached an empty road, and it was deemed safe enough to stop to let both Saeko and Sasuke inside. When things had finally calmed down Naruto took a glance at his younger brother and his new friend Alice who held unto the dog who they all found out was named Zeke while Kyuubi tried to distract the little girl from the horrors that were roaming outside as both kids bombarded Hirano with their singing, to which the dog howled along with their singing.

They needed a destination to strive for since driving around aimlessly would bring along horrific situations with bandits and undead at any part of the city. The bridge was a dangerous place to head towards with the endless rows of vehicles blocking any form of passage, and the only way to the island in the centre of town was to go by water.

"Go to the river bank." Naruto told his aunt, as she warily looked at her nephew who was lost in thought once again. Sometimes it was hard to believe that they were related since they differed greatly in character, the same thought had gone through her mind when she was going to school with her older brother Minato. Before she could lose herself in her memories Kyuubi shook her shoulder, staring at her with his bright blue eyes as he asked if she was alright.

"Sorry about that my little cutie, I was just a little distracted." She laughed it off as she buckled herself back into the drivers seat, getting ready for another hectic drive through mountains of people she felt guilty for hitting.

The ride afterwords remained uneventful as they chose to go around the high traffic areas doing their best to avoid any unnecessary contact with either the living or the undead

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

**(Dream)**

* * *

><p><em>"Leave him alone!"<em>

_"unnh."_

_"Kukukuku, and where would the fun be in that little bodyguard?"_

_..._

_..._

_"I'll kill you!"_

_"Oh I believe you will one day, when you grow up big and strong, but that is only if I let you live beyond this night."_

_"You'll never get away with this!"_

_"On the contrary I will."_

_"...!"_

_..._

_..._

_"Kukuku, my status in society will protect me, did you really believe that you and this little **treasure **are the first children I had for my experiments? No, I have been doing this for years with no __interruptions nor has any law enforcer suspected it was me."_

_"I will kill you-you-you bastard!"_

_"Did swearing make you feel like a big boy now?"_

_"Sasuke... run..."_

_..._

_"Kukuku, even if you ran with all your might you would be abandoning your **duty, **and he will die."_

_"AAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh..."_

_"...!"_

_..._

_..._

_"Little bastard! I won't be taken down with just this, you'll see I will make sure that everything you hold dear will be destroyed!"_

_..._

_..._

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback end<strong>

* * *

><p>Naruto woke with a start as Sasuke patted his chest, biting back his temper he took a few deep breaths hoping to calm himself down while the others were exploring the humvee with vigor. Grasping reality took a little while as Naruto had to inspect himself once again, despite the pain on his arm and legs when he moved to much, the pain was a good sign that this was his reality.<p>

That memory had not surfaced in his mind in years, Naruto thought back to his painful past, he wished he remembered the times before then when things were easier while he was younger and just as dangerous. The scar over his heart reminded him subconsciously everyday that he was lucky that he was alive and the fact that it would have been the exact opposite if it wasn't for them, the people he used to trust his life to before they all drifted away. Looking back at his past once again he can see the faces of all those children he trusted his life too in his childhood, and right now he knew for a fact that two of them were dead, four were in the same vehicle with him, and the rest he had no idea what ever happened to them.

'Get a grip on yourself Naruto, think about Kyuu, who is going to protect him if you are unhinged.' Naruto thought furiously while he felt the phantom pain over his heart, subconsciously rubbing it. Kiba had to place his hand over Naruto's to get him to realize what he was doing, with a silent nod of appreciation he moved his gaze back to the window.

"Did you ever think that this would happen?" Kiba asked the two boys as an obvious attempt to avoid an awkward silence. Sasuke was peeved, at what? Naruto didn't know but he was quick with his reply.

"No, I never thought that the dead coming back would ever happen. I mean this only happens in video games." Naruto had to stop him from biting off Kiba's head as he removed his grip from Sasuke's wrist, it was a silent warning between the two, and Sasuke knew better than to get on his bad side, wounded or not, no one messed with 'blondzilla'.

"I dreamt about this happening, but that's all they were dreams, and I was the big hero where nobody died, everyone was fine..." Kiba broke off using a spare towel to muffle his cries, and it worked well along with the sound of the engine drowning out his sorrows. Naruto couldn't do much with his limited mobility but he was able to rub the other teens fluffy brunette hair as he knew that nothing would work without _her_. She was like a breath of fresh air when it comes to dealing with another persons tears, he wished that she had held his heart instead, he knew that he would be happier not having an unrequited love.

Sasuke was also awkward in these types of situations, so it was only up to Naruto to help out their childhood friend, so he did what Takashi and Saeko did for him, he pulled the brunette close and hummed an age old melody he couldn't recall where he heard it from, completely missing the apprehensive look from Sasuke he continued until Kiba's tears were gone. Despite the slight embarrassing situation he got himself into, Kiba thanked Naruto as he left to check on Ino's injury on her head after he finished inspecting Naruto's injuries, if they ever get into a bad situation he would be in no shape to offer his services.

"Uhm...We might have a problem." His aunt timidly brought up as he slowly put the large vehicle to a stop, ahead of them they could see hoards of undead wandering the outskirts of the bridge, it was strange sight when only the day before they saw people who were alive nearly all of them were prepared to leave the town, and it was the only way to get to the island where his cousin lived, unless they drive through the shallow river while the tide was still low.

"Go by the water, we can make it across if we beat the tide."

"Are you crazy!? If we miss it then we are sitting ducks, its a long swim if this monster of a truck breaks down."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"We are sitting ducks if we stay here, we have no choice if we want to live."

"If something like that happens I'm sure we can think of something that will benefit us all."

"That is not very reassuring!"

"Why do you have to fight everything that I say? Do you really have a vendetta against me?"

"No.."

"Then quit arguing when its the only thing that we can do."

"We can leave the town!"

"We can't do that, do you know how many people left the town already?"

"The bridge was filled with people who had that idea, and if we tried to leave how many of those things do you think will be waiting for us?!"

"But..."

"Rei, thats enough, remember my promise."

"...alright."

The river was shallow enough for them to drive through if they hurried, things were relatively peaceful as Hirano distracted the children with rather interesting songs as they sat on the roof singing away, while everyone else was inside planning on what they should do while Shizuka was going over Naruto's and Ino's injuries, leaving Kiba out of the conversation while he drove them across the river, it was a silent joke between Shikamaru and Ino that he had the most experience in being an escape driver so this should be a piece of cake for him. The things that they have done while they were separated from him left a small pang of pain in Naruto's chest as he wished they never drifted away, but they all didn't have a choice.

Looking back out the window he saw Saya's place at the top of the hill, the most prominent home in that entire island, with more military personal than the Japanese ambassadors mansion, they would have been perfectly safe there if that was the first place that they decided to go for shelter, but given the circumstances it wasn't first on their list.

'Wonder where mom and dad are?' Naruto mused to himself, he was not entirely concerned for their well-being compared to everyone else in the truck, they were his first priority, along with the fact that his parents had substantial military training, so danger was an all time low when it came to them, at least in his mind it was.

"For all I know they could be dead."

"What? Who's dead?"

"Hmm? Must've been thinking out loud."

"About what?"

"My parents."

"Why would you think that?!"

"Meh, in this world all the things that we knew to be true is thrown into a loop, we don't know the outcome of today or tomorrow. I know how skilled my parents are, but even they can make a mistake, and any mistake here is fatal."

"Naruto..."

"Naruto nothing! Now I am tired, you guys continue with whatever you were thinking of, I'm going to bed."

"..."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, but I wish that...-"

"I wish that too Saya, but she would never come back, she and I made sure of that." Sasuke clutched at his shirt above his heart, it was painful as he thought about her, the one person who would have made a difference in this situation.

"I'm sorry..."

"I don't know whats going on right now, but I think that its best that we come up with a plan, we can't go into this thing blind."

"Shikamaru can think of one for us, he was known throughout our school as 'the lazy genius', I know that it isn't a very good nickname, but when this guy gets serious he can be quite amazing.- Ow."

"That's enough out of you, maybe you should go to bed as well."

'Meanie!"

"If I remember correctly Saya also had a high IQ, she and I can think of possibilities for what we can do, we all know out destination, but we need a route that would be the most secure for our safety."

"But why Saya?"

"It's her house we're going to, so she knows all the best and most quiet routes that would be perfect for us, if not we'd need to think of a quick escape route in case things get hairy."

"What about the rest of us?"

"Look for any fire power, I know Naruto packed almost everything at the house, but something this big should have some secret compartments that may have some things of value for us."

Everyone went to their assigned task searching for anything of value, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the size of the vehicle as they carefully inspected around the napping blonds. It was surprising how easily it was to get them to sleep, but given the circumstances they needed to conserve their energy the most.

* * *

><p>The time had moved quite fast as they neared the island where Saya's family lived, the largest home on the entire island, the magnificent mansion was their destination as the two sleeping blond teenagers continued sleeping, the group was preparing for any altercations that they may come across as Shizuka followed the assigned route to drive through, it was remotely quite with the exceptions of the roar of the engine and the loud snoring coming surprisingly Ino who's body was in a suggestive position as her head was on Takashi's lap as his blushing face was directed to the conveniently placed window at this side effectively avoiding Rei's cold glare, while Naruto had slight drooling at the edge of his mouth.<p>

It was only at a few occasions that they had to change the route, but they were close to reaching the mansion. Relief flooded the conscious occupants of the vehicle as the children silently cheered while Hirano continued to direct their attention elsewhere in hopes of leaving the blonds to their naps. When suddenly the vehicle took a quick swerve as Shizuka quickly noticed the wires blocking their way with the help of Kiba who was scouting ahead with Saya, while Hirano took the initiative to protect the kids from thrashing around in the vehicle as it came to a rough stop nearly crashing into the now viable cement road blocks and wires that prevented entry to the mansions premises.

Everyone was on high alert now after that abrupt stop, but it gave them even more challenge since the undead have now pinpointed their location as a small horde was now slowly making their way towards them, blocking any form of escape since there would be too many to run over if they attempted, it would end in them being surrounded by the undead it would be best to fight them on their own terms until they found a new way to fight.

"Those who have experience with close combat be on guard outside the vehicle, those who have experience with guns stay in the truck and start shooting those that get too close to us, provide back-up to those outside. NOW!" Naruto barked out as soon as he woke up, he already knew who would be outside and who wouldn't.

"Naruto's aunt can you get this vehicle even closer to the wires?" Shikamaru's mind was working in overdrive as he measured the height of the obvious man-made fence, he knew that not all of them could make it across.

"I-I-I can try."

"Great, hey you gun maniac make sure that no one gets overwhelmed. Saya and Shizuka when you have the opportunity I want you and the kids on the other side of this thing immediately." Shikamaru barked afterwards while everyone else got into position.

If the sudden thrust into danger left them consumed by their fear the group didn't show it, they just moved forward as the children were preparing to hoist themselves unto the other side while crying out for everyone else to follow suit, Saya and his aunt were already on the other side waiting for the kids to jump over. No one moved from their spot as Naruto picked up Kyuu and Alice throwing them on the other side of the fence where Saya and Shizuka caught them. They watched him as he placed himself at the top of the vehicle obviously in pain as he began shooting all the undead that came too close, or were about the overwhelm the others standing outside.

"You are all thats left now, okay Kyuu?"

"No! Please big brother come with us, please!?" He was begging, when he saw the determined expression on everyones face including his older brother's he understood that they would fight until the end, it hurt knowing that this may be the last time he'll see everyone on the other side of this fence as he cried in Shizuka's embrace.

Their ammo was running low while Hirano, Naruto and Shikamaru were shooting each undead with ease, each had experience in handling firearms while they were buying time for Ino to climb over, there wouldn't be enough time for all of them to climb, and if they tried they knew that no one would survive the ordeal since it was more that twice the height of the vehicle they were now standing on.

Naruto looked at everyone he could see Kiba, Sasuke, Saeko, Rei, and Takashi fighting on the ground with makeshift weapons that they had found all around them, he glanced at his side to see Hirano ready to face his fate as his gun clicked indicating that they had run out of bullets when his own gun clicked a second later. Looking behind him he could see Shikamaru hoisting Ino on his shoulders preparing for her to jump, however; she didn't as she just jumped beside him.

"I'm not leaving you guys alone, I am keeping my promise whether you like it or not!" Naruto could see more figures standing beside her, a girl with bright green eyes and bright pink hair stood on one side of Ino with the same determination in her eyes at the blond, on her other side he saw _her_, smiling at him shyly nodding with what Ino was saying, he could never say no to these two girls.

"I already knew that you would never go back on your word." Their images slowly faded away as they gave him one last smile, meeting them again would be a whole new adventure in itself as he pushed himself to climb to the ground with his bruised and swollen legs, his arm tensed while trying to withstand his weight, if there had been one more step he would have fell to the ground. It took a couple breaths for him to relax enough to turn around, everyone was watching him now, Naruto didn't care anymore as he used all of his martial arts training to fight anything that got too close.

The sight of their injured friend fight all the undead on his own, Sasuke was the first to go to his side fighting beside him as if it was the last time. Saeko was the next to go their side, taking down anything that got in her way, then the others were about to go the blond, they could see the sweat building up on his reddening face as his moves were getting sloppier, more stiff than it would have been if he was in his top condition.

"BIG BROTHER!" Kyuu screamed, while Shizuka cried into the childs back, Alice and Saya had to look away unable to see the scene that they all knew would transpire.

It took exactly five seconds for someone to push them aside, twenty seconds for the undead to be pushed back by gushing water, forty seconds someone to be on the other side of the fence with a ladder, and 1 minute for the tables to turn for their favour.

Kyuu and the others watched as their saviours dressed in fire fighters clothing help everyone unto the other side of the fence, it took them awhile to get Naruto over since the blond was now slumped in their arms exhausted.

"Protect the children! Get the over this thing stat! I want to know what the hell is going on in entrance 4!" A woman barked out, Saya recognize her voice, when the woman removed her helmet revealing her long reddish pink hair, her fierce gaze, until the blond was brought straight to her as she began caressing Naruto's cheek.

"His temperature is high, get him immediate attention, silly boy you should have known better." Her long reddish pink hair brushed the blonds flushed cheeks as his breathing was laboured, his eyes were glazed as he fell unconscious a second later.

"Mommy?" Saya cried, as she jumped into her mothers embrace with Alice in-between the two woman as Saya cried out in relief.

"Hello Darling." Saya's mother smiled down at her daughter as she beckoned Shizuka to bring Kyuubi to her, releasing Saya she held the little boy close, cradling him protectively as she stroke his tear-stained face, silently telling him and Saya that they were now safe.

* * *

><p>I guess most of you noticed the dark turn that I took with this chapter, in fact I planned this from the beginning wanting to reveal little by little how our main hero was not as godly as he appeared in the beginning.<p>

While I wrote this chapter I listened to three songs, that were my muse for this chapter.

In the pines: by Janal Drewis

Lead me home: by Jamie N Commons

Warm Shadow (Dactyl remix): By Fink (not P!nk, I know it looks like a spelling mistake but its the artists real name)

I would recommend these songs if you are into the same type music as myself, and maybe you can see why the story took such a direction. But in the end I hope you liked what actually goes through my mind as I write these chapters, since quite a few people wanted me to write another chapter a lot quicker than my last one.

I won't make any excuses as to why I take forever to write a chapter, I only write whenever the right muse has hit me, as other times I don't have anything that is going through my mind that I want to convey in my chapters. I may go to college at the moment, and have mountains of homework, but I go on this website every single day, and recently the majority of those times I don't write, I just read, until I see the 'movie' of a story I am writing, or want to write pops up in my mind. I never give up a story, just that I want you to know why it may take forever for me to publish new chapters.


End file.
